The verbal altercation between Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman attracted a lot of attention at Super Bowl XLIV’s Radio Row last week.
The exchange of insults drew a lot of eyeballs inside and outside the MMA bubble. Despite the resulting buzz elevation surrounding the upcoming matchup, UFC president Dana White said he wasn’t thrilled in an interview with ESPN.
“I don’t love it,” White said. “People think because I’m a promoter I’m like, ‘Cha-ching. That’s great for us.’ But it’s not great for us. We’re here at the Super Bowl – Radio Row at the Super Bowl, the NFL – and these two are acting like neanderthals.”
White took particular exception with the time and place the welterweights’ spat took place. In a venue largely filled with non-MMA followers, White thinks a scene of that magnitude is unsettling and legally problematic.
“The problem is for the people who (are) in here and the media, it scares (non-MMA) people like this,” White said. “That’s a scary thing when that goes down. If they touch each other, now the police get involved. We’re regulated by the government. Now, the athletic commissions are getting involved (if they touch each other).
“Those two are going to fight in Las Vegas in ‘International Fight Week’ for 25 minutes. They can do whatever they want to each other. That fight’s happening. You don’t have to do it here at Radio Row at the Super Bowl.”
Check out Dana White’s comments in the video clip below:
Dana White: Usman, Masvidal shouldn’t have acted like 'neanderthals' at Super Bowl Radio Row