UFC CEO and president Dana White has many fans upset this week.
Dana White is adamantly denying he’s a sellout for getting back in bed with Bud Light following the Dylan Mulvaney controversy. White says the promotion’s decision to bring back Bud Light as its official beer sponsor was not about money.
The UFC signed a six-year sponsorship deal with Bud Light, which starts in January, and is expected to be worth north of $100 million. Bud Light will replace Modelo as the UFC’s official beer sponsor.
The deal was announced roughly six months after Bud Light partnered with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a March Madness ad campaign this past April. That sparked anger and boycotts across the country that continue today.
After the deal, White went on Fox News to state he felt his core values “aligned with” Anheuser-Busch.
“They were the first beer company that we really did business with. They were our first real big sponsor when we were getting started, and now we’re back with them,” White said. “I know all the controversy and everything else, but for myself, going into a long-term deal with another sponsor, I want to be with somebody that I’m actually aligned with.”
During Wednesday’s Power Slap postfight press conference, he further addressed critics and let them know that this deal wasn’t just about money as he has been bombarded with sellout comments.
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“When it comes to Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, everybody talks about, oh, you did it for the money. Hey, dummies, all sponsorship deals are about money, so when you talk about being a sellout, I have multiple deals in front of me, so it’s not like Bud showed up, and they were the only option I had to get money.
“This was all about everybody on every side of this deal that were involved, other beer companies and everything else, absolutely positively know this was not about money for me. We were going to end up with money with no matter who we ended up with for Anheuser-Busch, it was about values, core values for me. I’m at a point in my life, and I’m at a point in my career where nothing is just about money anymore.”
White said he was aware of the potential backlash the UFC could receive as a result of partnering with Bud Light, but he isn’t concerned about it. White also explained what he likes about Anheuser-Busch and its vision, and why the deal makes sense for him and the UFC.
“I saw some f—ing a–hole today saying it sounds like they wrote a script on what to say. Nobody writes me a script. Nobody tells me what to say, ever…If you look at every quote that I put out, every quote is me. Everything that’s posted on social media is me, and everything that comes out of this mouth is me. Nobody tells me what to say, nobody tells what to do, ever.’
“Everything I said about Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light is absolutely true, I am a big military and law enforcement guy. They have this folds of honor where they’ve spent $44 million over the last however many years. Fallen first responders and military people, their families get taken care of with this money, scholarships for their kids, that is right up my alley.”
“Almost $1 billion a year goes to U.S. farmers for their crops and their products. That is right up my alley. That’s exactly who I am.”
“65,000 Americans are employed by Anheuser-Busch, and thousands of them are vets, right up my alley.”
“I can go on and tell you why I’m more aligned with Anheuser-Busch than any other beer company.”
With sales taking a major hit since the Mulvaney campaign, Bud Light’s deal is viewed by many as the beer company making a major attempt to rebrand with a younger audience.
