UFC president Dana White and Oscar De La Hoya escalated their war of words over fighter pay on social media.
After De La Hoya criticized White on the topic following the conclusion of Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega’s war at UFC 266 on Saturday, White fired back by accusing the boxer of faking COVID-19, which forced him to withdraw from his return to the ring against Vitor Belfort.
On Monday, De La Hoya took to Instagram to respond to White, calling him “pathetic” for downplaying the affects of COVID-19 and the impact it’s had on the country.
“That’s all you got Dana White? You’re accusing me of FAKING a virus that killed almost 700,000 Americans to avoid a fight??” De La Hoya wrote. “You pathetic piece of sh*t you’ve never even laced up the gloves. And you completely ignored my original point I made about UNDERPAYING YOUR FIGHTERS.”
White was quick to fire back, telling De La Hoya that he’s in no position to talk about fighter pay after the lone MMA event he promoted for Golden Boy in November 2018, which was headlined by a trilogy bout between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, who hadn’t competed in almost eight years. Ortiz made quick work of Liddell, taking him out in Round 1. The reported payouts were $250,000 for Liddell and $200,000 for Ortiz.
“Don’t worry about Volkanovski you clown,” White wrote. “He has a team of very intelligent, sophisticated people behind him and he’s clearly doing very well for himself. If he needs to buy an 8 ball then maybe he will reach out to you for some guidance. It’s no secret you’re a liar, drug addict, and all around scumbag. It doesn’t matter that you ‘laced up gloves’ and there is no doubt you accomplished big things in boxing. But out of the ring you’re an absolute f*cking loser.
“When you were a one and done MMA promoter you lied about what Chuck and Tito would make and you paid everyone sh*t!! Not to mention you didn’t even take the time to learn the names of your fighters on the card. So f*ck off. Leave the fight promoting to me and do the whole world a favor and fight Vitor Belfort so we can all watch you go to sleep!!!”
According to Triller’s Ryan Kavanagh, the promotion is interested in rebooking 48-year-old De La Hoya against Belfort.
‘You pathetic piece of sh*t’: Dana White, Oscar De La Hoya escalate war of words on fighter pay