UFC Vancouver proved to be a night full of surprises. Mike Malott earned a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland, while Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera dropped a decision to Aiemann Zahabi in a shocking upset. But the biggest twist came in the main event, where Brendan Allen stunned Reinier de Ridder with a fifth-round TKO finish. 

As the event wrapped up, ‘All In’ made his way to the post-fight press conference; however, before the half-Canadian contender took the stage, one notable figure was missing—Dana White. The UFC CEO, who usually headlines post-fight pressers to discuss the event and reveal key numbers, was unexpectedly absent this time, leaving everyone wondering why.

Where is Dana White?

No reason was given for Dana White’s absence. Yet, it caused a delay for Allen’s portion of the presser. Nonetheless, UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen drew an impressive crowd of 17,671 fans, filling Vancouver’s Rogers Arena to capacity. According to TKO Group, the event generated a gate revenue of $2,702,134 from the ticket sales—a strong showing for the promotion’s return to Canada.

There was plenty to celebrate on fight night, but only a select few fighters earned the coveted $50,000 performance bonuses. The official post-fight bonus winners were: Fight of the Night—Drew Dober vs. Kyle Prepolec; Performance of the Night—Charles Jourdain; and Performance of the Night—Aoriqileng.

Still, much of the fan chatter centered around Dana White’s mysterious absence—a topic that dominated the live YouTube chat as the post-fight press conference unfolded.

White doesn’t like Canada, says fan

With a lack of explanation, fans quickly came up with their theories. One user suggested that Dana White might not be too fond of Canada. “​​Dana doesn’t even like Canada enough to show up,” the user wrote. However, that’s unlikely to be the case.

Meanwhile, this user was fed up with the delay caused by White’s absence. “Idk why UFC can’t just start the presser when everyone is ready to go, years and years of silent bs starting and in-between every interview,” the user wrote. However, the fighters themselves also need time to freshen up and recover before they can sit down for the post-fight press conference. 

Even the next user was growing impatient. “WHERE IS THE PRESSER??? FANS STAND UP,” the user wrote. Had that actually happened, though, the UFC might have been forced to cancel the entire press conference.

The next user had a similar feeling. “Getting annoyed tbh,” the user commented. Thankfully, Allen showed up soon after. 

As all this was going on, some users started spamming, “​​#GiveUsABetterProduct,” demanding that UFC make better fights.

That said, many fans seemed disappointed with the post-fight press conference—both because of Dana White’s absence and the long delay before it began. But was it really that big of a deal?