50 of the best moments of Dana White’s career

Jon Jones vs. Anthony Johnson press conference prank

By Zain Bando

In 2015, the UFC held a “Go Big” press conference to promote their late-spring, early-summer events. Among the big headliners were Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson, who were set to fight at UFC 187 in Las Vegas, NV.

Jones had just defeated arch-rival, Daniel Cormier in January, and was coming off of a tense pre-fight build-up that spanned the course of seven months. At the pre-fight press conference in 2014 prior to UFC 178, Jones and Cormier got into an intense stare-down, which quickly turned into an all-out brawl in the MGM Grand hotel lobby. Johnson, along with many others, probably took notice.

After the “Go Big” press conference had concluded, the fighters squared off for photo-ops, which allowed Jones and Johnson to have a little fun with UFC president Dana White. Jones fakes a push of Johnson and White jumped in between the two men eager to squash something before it got bigger. After a brief moment of shock, Jones and Johnson start laughing and White realizes he’s been pranked.

Thank goodness!

WEC merger

By Joe McDonagh

The WEC/UFC merger came as a surprise to many even though both were owned by Zuffa. UFC President Dana White was ready to merge the WEC under the UFC umbrella and continue to grow the promotion to what it has become today. Not only did this merger mean higher pay for all involved but also a chance to mold some of the top talents in the world against opponents on that same level. White held WEC 48 as the only WEC PPV before announcing the merger. This card included seven fighters who would either hold UFC belts or challenge for the title during their UFC careers, including the likes of Jose Aldo, Uriah Faber, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The WEC had some of the top names in MMA, and joining the UFC ranks with their own was a genius move on  White’s part. In the end, he predicted would create one super product, and he was right.