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Dana White Rubs Salt in Howie Mandel’s Wounds, Shows Up on Another Podcast Days After Infamous Walkout

Published 02/21/2024, 3:35 AM EST

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A few days before UFC 298, CEO Dana White made an appearance on Howie Mandel‘s podcast. But at the very start of the podcast, the 54-year-old decided to walk out of the interview, claiming that he was tired of doing podcasts. However, the UFC CEO recently made a U-turn and appeared on another podcast, ‘Games With Names’, hosted by former Patriots’ star Julian Edelman.

White has already mentioned that he doesn’t like giving interviews to the media but had no problems with podcasts. However, he stormed out of Mandel’s podcast and even said he is not doing any more podcasts. But he seems to have no qualms about appearing on Edelman’s podcast.

Dana White discussed Joe Rogan hiring, Conor McGregor impact on ‘Games With Names’

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The UFC CEO joined former New England Patriots football wide receiver Julian Edelman during a recent episode of his podcast, ‘Games With Names’. Despite expressing his irritation and hesitation regarding such appearances, he seemed to be in good spirits this time out. White appeared to be a fan of Edelman as he praised his stint with the Patriots. He also talked about how he hired Joe Rogan and praised Conor McGregor.

White said, “He literally was doing ‘Fear Factor’ when I hired him… I had a VCR… There was this talk show… They had Joe Rogan on there… He was talking about how bada** UFC fighters were. I was like, ‘Man this guy knows what he’s talking about.’ He’s smart, he’s funny and he’s articulate. So I reached out to Rogan… We started talking and I asked him if he’s like to work for us as a commentator… Joe Rogan did the first 12 or 13 shows for free.”

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The 54-year-old also talked about Conor McGregor while naming him at the top of his favorite fighter list. He said, “Conor [McGregor] has been an incredible partner. The business sense this kid had is fascinating. Everybody always asks me, ‘Is he a nightmare to deal with?’ No, he’s actually not. He’s actually a really good partner, and he understands the business. He’s actually been great to work with.” White also said while names such as Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, and Ronda Rousey helped build the sport in different ways, no one has ever done it like McGregor.

On the podcast, Dana White mentioned that he and his children, who were born in Las Vegas, were all fans of the New England Patriots. Additionally, he also mentioned being a true Bostonian by heart. White claimed to be a supporter of all major sporting franchises of Boston, including the Red Sox, Celtics, and, of course, the Patriots. However, this appearance on the podcast comes after he had doubled down about not making any more podcast appearances during the UFC 298 post-fight presser.

Dana White “podcasted out” after Howie Mandel incident

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During the UFC 298 post-fight presser, journalists could not help but ask him about the move Dana White made with Howie Mandel on his “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. The 54-year-old made it clear that he was not in favor of podcasts anymore, claiming that he felt like Jordan Peterson because he sees videos of himself from various podcast appearances whenever he opens Instagram.

“You know where I’m at with the podcasts. I feel like f**ing Jordan Peterson every time I turn on Instagram, I’m on a f***ing podcast. Yes, no more podcasts, please. Podcasted out,” said Dana White.

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Some people believe that Dana White was disrespectful when he walked out of Howie Mandel’s podcast in just 30 seconds. But given his recent appearance on another podcast, the question arises whether the incident was a publicity stunt or staged.

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Written by:

Himanga Mahanta

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Himanga Mahanta is a senior UFC writer at EssentiallySports. An all-rounder in his coverage of the sport, Himanga is a reliable voice with a knack for providing analytical coverage of breaking stories from the world of MMA. His 1700+ articles include perspective pieces on trending UFC stories, and both live and post-event coverage of weekly events.
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Edited by:

Yeswanth Praveen