UFC CEO and President Dana White’s ongoing dispute with Showtime Chief Stephen Espinoza has taken a heated turn. Over the years both Dana White and Espinoza have taken digs at each other for various reasons. However, this time around their rivalry has turned particularly bitter due to Espinoza’s comments on UFC.
Before the whole dispute, rumors of Showtime pulling the plug on boxing by the end of this year started circulating like wildfire. White after hearing the news made it clear that he thought very lowly of Showtime and was happy that it was being shut. Stephen took note of Dana’s comments and said something that infuriated Dana White.
The Showtime President during his press conference to promote Canelo Alvarez vs Jermell Charlo stated that there are levels to this game. He then proceeded to address the fact that UFC is yet to generate an event gate of $20 million. Espinoza believes that Canelo vs Charlo will be their third event to earn more than $20 million joining the likes of events like Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis and Terrence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr.
🚨| Dana White’s response to the comments made by the president of Showtime Sports, Stephen Espinosa. pic.twitter.com/0xAvBBICsK
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) September 28, 2023
Although true the remarks from the Showtime Chief send White into rage. The UFC CEO took to Instagram and posted a brutal response on his story taking a page from Conor McGregor’s book by calling Espinoza a weasel.
“That’s exactly the type of response I would expect from that Weasel Espinoza. That scumbag has absolutely nothing to do with the success of Ryan Garcia, Canelo and Terence Crawford. Those guys are megastars and they are the ones responsible for driving the gates in their fights. For him to even try and take any credit at all shows you exactly what an arrogant, delusional POS that guy is,” posted Dana White.
Furthermore, the 54-year-old also believes that Espinoza is a complete phony for talking about levels. Regardless, White cannot be any happier for the fact that Showtime might shut down very soon.
Dana White happy with Showtime Boxing potentially shutting down by next year
UFC CEO Dana White and Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza have not been on the best terms, to say the least. The duo worked together to promote the highly successful Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather boxing bout in 2017. Yet, White was not satisfied with Showtime and ended up harboring negative impressions of the network and its President.
Recently rumors of Showtime shutting down by 2024 have been making rounds on the web. Paramount who owns Showtime have decided to pull the plug on the channel’s boxing content and they will no longer broadcast regular boxing fights. Yet it is believed that they may continue broadcasting huge PPV bouts.
Dana White when asked about his thoughts on the rumors decided to be respectful towards Espinoza. “That’s incredibly unfortunate, the production of that show is fantastic. The guy who runs Showtime Boxing is a great human being. It’s unfortunate to hear this,” said the 54-year-old.
However, White was simply being sarcastic and had a grin on his face. The UFC head honcho then revealed his true feelings and was happy with Showtime being axed. “F** Espinoza and it’s about time that s**y product is off the air,” added White.
Although the rumors are yet to be confirmed, Showtime’s absence will create a vacuum in the boxing world. Given White’s history with boxing, chances are he might soon end up promoting boxing bouts as well. Will Dana enter the world of boxing once again? Let us know your opinions in the comments below.
