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Joe Rogan Reveals $7 Million Richer Dana White Pulled the UFC Out of the Palms Over Heated Gambling Dispute

Published 05/28/2022, 5:00 AM EDT

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If MMA fans around the world get to watch fights, one man who deserves the credit is UFC President Dana White. Not only is White a powerful man, but he is also very influential.

The UFC stopped doing events at the palms, after The Ultimate Fighter and certain UFC Fights used to take place at the palms for a long time. Recently in an episode of his podcast, Rogan revealed the reason behind it.

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On an episode of his podcast, Rogan said, “This was back when it was the palms…He won so much money, I think the most he has ever won is $7million…like he is really wealthy. So for him to feel it, to get that charge, he is got to be betting big money.”

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He further added, “So he won so much money that they told him he is banned from the casino. And he said, oh really? Guess what else is banned? And he pulled the UFC out of the palms.”

“So UFC we used to do The Ultimate Fighter and some of the smaller shows, we do it at the palms and he pulled it from the palms…They told him he can’t gamble there, he is like, oh, guess what else I can’t do here? I can’t have fights here.” 

Why is Joe Rogan So Important to the UFC?

This story narrated by Rogan is a testament to the power and influence of Dana White. Even during the pandemic, when every sporting event was shut down, White and the UFC continued putting up events.

Dana White gave rise to UFC Fight Island

In 2020, because of the outbreak of the pandemic, every sporting event around the globe came to a halt. While the future remained uncertain, the one man who proceeded ahead and continued hosting events was UFC President Dana White.

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While talking to TMZ Sports, White said that he was a day or two away from securing a private island to conduct the fights. He said that since he could not fly in international fighters to the USA; he secured a private island to conduct fights from there. Although he did not reveal the location at first, UFC Fight Island took place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

The first event that took place at UFC Fight Island was UFC 251: Usman vs Masvidal. Since then, Fight Island has played host in many successful PPV events and fight night events.

Moreover, this move by Dana White to conduct fights in closed doors while maintaining all safety protocols is proof of his love and passion for Mixed Martial Arts. Credit to the UFC President and his team for putting up events in a time of crisis for people around the world to enjoy.

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Watch This Story: Conor McGregor’s Super Human Transformation After the Horrific Injury at UFC 264

Love him or hate him, the contribution of Dana White in making the UFC and the sport of MMA popular can’t be ignored. Let us know your thoughts on this saga in the comments down below.

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Written by:

Varun Bhat

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Varun Anand Bhat is an MMA writer at EssentiallySports. Not only does he train in MMA but he is also a certified judge, which gives him valuable insight while writing content. The fight between Conor Mcgregor & Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 was responsible for making him interested in the sport of MMA.
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Edited by:

Sreeda U M