Dana White Wins Fans’ Hearts With Tony the LED Guy Collab for His Long-Standing Ritual Before UFC Shanghai

Dana White added a surprising twist to his pre-event ritual for UFC Shanghai 2025, teaming up with none other than Tony Zhu, also known online as “Tony the LED Guy.” The UFC CEO has made it a routine to pump up fans on social media by breaking down the card before each event, but this time he brought in an unexpected collaborator who instantly lit up the internet.

The UFC shared the video with the hilarious caption, “The collaboration we didn’t know we needed 😂 Make sure you tune into #UFCShanghai tonight!” In the video, the head honcho and Tony work together to promote the upcoming card, encouraging fans all across the world to tune in. For the unaware, Tony Zhu is a Chinese marketing professional who represents LC Sign, a Guangzhou-based company that specializes in lit LED and neon signage.

He rose to international fame on social media because of his amusing promotional videos, including accents and dialects from all over the world. Tony has 2 million Instagram followers and 2.2 million TikTok followers, giving him a global audience that now rivals the UFC’s. So, as expected, fans instantly flooded the comments section, hailing the collaboration as one of the UFC’s most entertaining pre-fight promos.

One person wrote, “Anyways. 😭 What a collab.” Another wrote, “HEY HOMIE, IT’S TONY 🔥🔥🔥,” while a third added, “Tony is the King. IYKYK.” The replies weren’t all polished, as one bluntly stated, “What damn f—— collab.” Still, the buzz was undeniable, and the comments section quickly turned into a celebration of the collaboration.

Others focused less on the collaboration and more on the upcoming fight night. “Can’t wait to finally enjoy a fight night at night,” one fan wrote, while another shared, “🔥🔥🔥🔥 Can’t wait for tonight! I’ll be in the stadium.” Many expressed the same sentiment, with comments like “All hyped up for Fight Night y’all,” showing how the video served as fuel for raising the hype around the event.

Well, it surely looks like pairing Tony with Dana White ahead of UFC Shanghai, headlined by Johnny Walker vs. Zhang Mingyang, provided the ideal balance of entertainment and hype as the promotion returned to China for the first time since the pandemic. However, unlike the positive reaction to the collaboration, not everything went the UFC’s way, as the event did suffer some major hiccups.

Dana White forced to change weight category for major UFC Shanghai fight

Dana White’s collaboration with Tony created a nice buzz, but there were some difficult moments at the weigh-ins. Fans expected clean results before the UFC’s return to China, but the co-main event took an unexpected turn. What was supposed to be a featherweight battle between Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling is now officially a catchweight bout at 153 pounds.

Though the UFC or Dana White did not provide an official explanation, the tweak occurred in response to worries that Ortega was struggling with his weight cut to 146 pounds. Rather than risk a cancellation, the promotion acted swiftly to change the terms, with both Ortega and Sterling weighing 153 pounds to keep the event alive.

It’s not the smooth path either fighter hoped for, but the move assures fans get their much-anticipated five-round co-main event. The stakes remain high. Ortega is determined to recover from his loss to Diego Lopes, while Sterling seeks redemption after a tight defeat to Movsar Evloev in December 2024.

Now that the weight issue has been resolved, both men have the opportunity to silence doubts under the bright lights of Shanghai. The shift in weight might have shaken the buildup, but the fire behind Ortega vs. Sterling is far from over.