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Dana White Lost “All the Fighters Money” in $3M Gambling Spree Is What Fans Claim After UFC CEO’s Confession

Published 03/26/2024, 12:32 PM EDT

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The UFC head honcho Dana White has been on the news numerous times owing to his gambling habits. From being informally banned from Casinos for winning ridiculous amounts to joining the Nelk Brothers for their live gambling sessions. And as the norm of the gambling goes, White won some and lost some. Only this time, his loss amounted to a hefty three million dollars.

Amidst running probably the biggest promotion in combat sports, and with the centennial PPV just around the corner, White’s recent revelation to Lex Fridman indicated his shock own when he learned about his massive loss. And now as the podcast garners further traction, the fans are seemingly lashing out and holding him accountable for losing “the fighters’ money.” So without further ado, let’s dive into all that has transpired so far.

Did Dana White initially assume his $3 million loss to be $ 80k?

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In Dana White’s recent appearance at the Lex Fridman Podcast, among other consequential discussions, White decided to reveal how he forgot that he lost $3 million playing blackjack. He narrated the story where he was in Rio (Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas) with his buddies. After going into the high-limit room, he started his gambling night. That is when the ball got rolling for the plot twist he was about to face.

White further disclosed, “We start gambling, and I continue to drink, having a blast, I end up leaving and going home that night and I lost like 80 grand, right? So, I wake up the next morning and I’m like fu** those mo*** Got me for 80,000 last night. So, I’m at work the next day, and the host of the hotel calls me and says ‘Dana um, are you coming back? Do you still need the room…?’”

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He continued and told the hotel manager to not get comfortable with his 80 grand because he was coming back for it. There was dead silence on the other end according to the CEO and then he heard the most shocking news of his life. The host said, “Dana you lost $3 million last night.”

This is not the first time that he lost large amounts of money. Back in 2023 he also lost $6 million in blackjack. The successful business mogul has a long history of playing at high stakes and sometimes is quite lucky because he has won millions of dollars on a single night. But regardless, his recent revelation has received quite the flak from UFC fans!

Fans lambast Dana White and bring back the fighter-pay disparity discussion!

The gambling guru has often posted videos of his shenanigans before as well. But this time around, in an Instagram post that shows a disappointed Dana White in the first post with the caption- “Dana White tells the story about how he lost $3m in one night of gambling.” This was followed by a video snippet of the Lex Fridman Podcast with the actual revelation. 

And the fans were quick to take to the comments, expressing their disappointment with White for spending his money on gambling.

Recently Brendan Schaub pointed out that the fighters needed a union so that they were paid properly. Following a similar theme, one fan pointed out how fighters are still paid less and the gambling money was all the salary that should have been paid to the fighters.

“All the fighter’s money”

“How about taking those 3 miles and paying your fighters with it?”

Another fan was also infuriated at how much money the CEO seems to waste away on gambling. 

“What a degenerate. That’s just pure disgusting behavior to gamble away 3 million 😂”

Meanwhile, another fan again pointed out how White does not pay his fighters. This has been pointed out by Demetrious Johnson as well, who exposed his claims of not being paid properly by the CEO.

“Dana tells the story of how he won’t pay his fighters because he has to blow his money on gambling” There, fixed it.

“Still can’t pay his fighters”

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Finally, another fan noted along the lines of why he wouldn’t pay his fighters because he was busy gambling away his money.

“Well, there’s your answer for why he won’t pay his fighters. He’s financing a gambling addiction.”

A similar theme is quite evident throughout the comment section. With numerous allegations of payment disparity, White surely would have to double-check himself before indulging in similar conversations henceforth.

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So what do you think about the CEO’s gambling tribulation? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Tanushree Bhowmick

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Tanushree Bhowmick is a Bodybuilding Writer at EssentiallySports. Her Master's degree in English literature is reflected in every carefully crafted sentence she writes. A lifelong fan of action movies, Tanushree has a keen interest in covering Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newsletters.
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Edited by:

Joyita Das