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“You Dirty Ba****d!” – Dana White Reacts to Fox Sports Promoting NASCAR

Published 05/19/2020, 1:50 PM EDT

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Dana White has gone through a lot for being able to pull off three events at Jacksonville. Ever since the pandemic put the sporting world on hold, Dana laid out his goals.

He wanted the UFC to be the first sporting event back in action. Eventually, Dana did achieve it. However, over the weekend, Fox Sports has been promoting NASCAR as the first sport to be back.

White was asked how he felt about the move from his previous broadcasting partner at the post-fight press conference on Saturday. He reacted maturely and diplomatically. The UFC President realized that the move was more of an attempt meant aginst ESPN than the UFC itself.

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“Have they really? Eric Shanks you dirty ba****d!” White responded jokingly when a journalist inquired him about Fox’s promotional tactic. “Shanks, the President of Fox, called me saying congratulations. I would call it more of ESPN vs Fox thing than a UFC slap in the face. I have an incredible relationship with Fox.”

Fox inked a multi-year, multi-media rights agreement with Zuffa, LLC, the former owner of the UFC brand that began in November 2011. Dana White had praised Fox for being the No.1 network in the country.

The deal ended the UFC’s association with cable television channel Spike. During its seven-year tenure, the deal saw UFC reach heights it has ever seen as an organization.

After the deal ended in 2018, UFC switched over to ESPN in January 2019.

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Dana White says he will never bad-mouth Fox

The UFC’s and Dana’s association with Fox has ended. However, the UFC President is still on good terms with the company. He has maintained a level of professionalism. Moreover, he only has happy memories of his time with Fox.

“You never have or never will hear me say a word about Fox,” Dana said. “Without Fox, there is no ESPN. Those guys were very good to us for the entire relationship and I loved the time I spent at Fox. It’s all good”

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Fox broadcasted the return of NASCAR on Sunday at Darlington Raceway. Kevin Harvick won the race becoming the 14th driver in NASCAR history to reach 50 career wins.

Meanwhile, UFC Fight Night 176 had already taken place on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. This was also the third event that the UFC had pulled off in a week.

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Written by:

Rishabh Singh

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Rishabh Singh is an MMA author at EssentiallySports since 2020. An engineer in the making, his love for combat sports began by watching Anderson Silva light people up inside the Octagon. When he isn't busy in his technical pursuits, he is an avid reader with a love for sports in general and sporting history in particular.
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