For most of his career, Renato Moicano has been a company man. However, the Brazilian couldn’t help himself from calling out Dana White and the rest of the UFC brass after they used heavily AI-generated material to create recent promos. The UFC lightweight contender feels that the promotion’s move is disrespectful to the fans, as it creates unrealistic and “sloppy” portrayals of their fighters. Yet, his criticism might not lead to change, as the UFC CEO is adamant about the use of AI in promotional material.

“I saw it, and I didn’t like it at all. UFC’s not going to be very happy for me to say that, but I didn’t like it. I think that’s disrespectful towards the fans, because I’m a fan myself,” Moicano said on the Ariel Helwani Show. “If you can’t put Alex Pereira or Ilia Topuria on an airplane and put them in Washington D.C., in front of the White House, I think that’s sloppy.

“I don’t like to use AI on my stuff at all. I’m not saying it doesn’t help for some stuff, but not for content. People can see when it’s sloppy, and that’s brain-rotting everybody right now.”

Most notably, the UFC released its AI promo during the UFC Seattle broadcast, where fans quickly spotted that the promo was made using artificial intelligence, which didn’t sit well with them. After the event, reporters asked Dana White why they were using AI, replacing the creative human labor that goes into making promos, but the UFC CEO dismissed it with a blunt response.

“Give me a f—–g break,” White replied. “AI is coming, and if we’re using AI, who gives a s–t? … Shut the f— up and watch the fights.”

With that statement, White made it clear that the promotion will continue using AI in its productions and followed it up with another trailer. On April 11, the UFC launched the highly anticipated Freedom 250 trailer at UFC 327, which featured some of the sport’s biggest stars, Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira, Justin Gaethje, and Ciryl Gane, stepping out of a black car while Dana White joined them at the White House. Even though the concept was cool, it was entirely AI-generated, which drew another round of backlash.

Joining the fans and fighters, prominent journalist Ariel Helwani also called out the UFC for using AI in its promos, and not a particularly good one at that. However, even with all the criticism, it seems Dana White won’t budge anytime soon based on his recent comments.

Following White’s defiant stance, the company’s chief content officer has also stepped up to defend the use of artificial intelligence.

UFC’s chief content officer sheds light on the company’s recent push behind AI

While Dana White confirmed that the UFC will use artificial intelligence going forward, he didn’t say much about the extent of its use. To shed more light on that, UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari addressed the issue and assured that AI will only amplify content rather than replace it. He also claimed that using better technology gives them an edge in storytelling without replacing anyone on the team.

“The way we look at AI is not a substitute for content creation, but rather a way to amplify it,” Borsari told Jake Aryeh on Against the Cage podcast. “It’s no different than using maybe a green screen. I mean, it’s a technique and technology that is evolving at an incredible rate. If we’re not pushing the envelope and looking for different ways to do things and storytelling, that’s our job. The last thing I want my team to be is stagnant and play on our heels and play it safe.”

“We’re still relatively in the early stages of AI. It isn’t just to put in some prompts and take the end product of whatever is spit out and move on. Our editors, our producers are using it as a tool to create content. We will continue to use AI and other technology to try to create content in a way that we weren’t able to in the past.”

To be fair, the UFC has been investing rapidly in AI. They partnered with IBM and 4D Sight to bring advancements to their production. Still, the company’s most significant move has been its partnership with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, which promises multiple AI advancements. Also, recently, the UFC renamed its Apex facility to Meta Apex, showing how much they value the partnership.

As the UFC’s leadership doubles down on AI, they face a growing divide with the fighters and fans who feel the sport’s human element is being sacrificed for technological shortcuts.