The UFC 292 PPV was headlined by the fight between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley. The bout saw Sterling attempt to defend his Bantamweight title against O’Malley. But for UFC President Dana White, the battle began long before ‘Funkmaster’ stepped into the Octagon with ‘Sugar’ Sean. It began the day we announced the names. Dana White had been fending off allegations that certain fighters, like Conor McGregor, were subject to special treatment from the promotion.

This bias, termed by the MMA world as the ‘Dana White Privilege’, was allegedly extended to the likes of ‘Sugar’ as well. However, after O’Malley secured a stunning TKO victory over Sterling, Dana White publicly clarified that no such bias exists. He said, “There’s no such thing as ‘Dana White privilege’ in this company. You… you know, they can do that type of sh*t in boxing.” However, in an exclusive interview, one ex-UFC star shared his insights on this privilege and why he thinks McGregor and he shared it.

Ex-UFC fighter on why Dana White “loves” Conor McGregor and him

Darren Till, the ex-UFC fighter and friend of Khamzat Chimaev, recently spoke to SportsLens.com in an exclusive interview. While the interview touched on many topics, the focus eventually shifted to fighters turning down fights. The interviewer asked Till, “Have you heard any reasons for like other fighters turning down fights for like, ridiculous reasons?”. The former middleweight expressed his confusion regarding fighters pulling out of their fights.

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Till elaborated, “I don’t know. I don’t know why fighters turn down fights. I don’t understand why. That’s why Dana loves Conor so much. That’s why Dana loved me so much. I’ve never, ever once turned down a fight. And when I moved up to the middleweight division Dana said to me, ‘Do you wanna fight this next fight’. Kelvin Gastelum had just come off his fight. Whereas Israel Adesanya… had closely nearly beaten him”.

He revealed that certain fighters like Conor McGregor and himself never turned down fights. This might have possibly led to Dana White liking them more. He continued, “And he’s like ‘You sure you want him?’ Dana give me Kelvin Gastelum. Call a main event”.

Dana White’s take on saying no to fights

Dana White’s feud with ‘Wonderboy’ recently took over headlines. Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was scheduled to fight Michel Pereira in a Welterweight bout at UFC 291. However, ‘Demolidor’ missed weight by three pounds and consequently, Thompson refused to fight him. He held up his end of the contract but decided to leave in order to prioritize his health. Thompson, in a past match, looked past his opponent not being able to make weight and let it slide, ending in him losing to Darren Till by decision.

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However, since Michel Pereira’s inability to make weight breached the agreement, ‘Wonderboy’ expected to receive his fight purse. However, White denied a full payment stating his reasons. He said, “If you decide you don’t wanna take the fight, we also offer them another fight. You just don’t show up and say, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna fight. I want a quarter of a million dollars.’ That’s not how the way it works”.

Dana White has clearly expressed his opinion on fighters who decline a fight. The apparent recipient of Dana White’s love, Darren Till, has said that Dana “loves” him because of his readiness to fight. One on hand, Dana White denies favoritism. On the other, fighters report being treated differently. What are your thoughts on this topic? Let us know in the comments below.

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