Dana White unloaded on the UFC production team Saturday after Shakur Stevenson was misidentified on the UFC 329 broadcast.
During the event, Stevenson was shown on screen but labeled as Oklahoma City Thunder player Jalen Williams, a mistake that infuriated the UFC CEO at the post-fight press conference.
"I just paid Shakur Stevenson a shit load of money and for some reason we can’t figure the celebrity shit out. They put him up as a f*cking OKC NBA player! Are you f*cking kidding me?" White said, noting he recently signed Stevenson to a lucrative multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing.
White contrasted the error with his usual praise for the production team, referencing a recent high-profile event. "I tell you all the time my production team—we just did the White House—we built a f*cking arena on the South Lawn of the White House and it was the greatest f*cking thing in the world to be there live and to watch it on TV."
He also pointed to a previous broadcast blunder at Sphere in Las Vegas, when Terence Crawford was shown but labeled as Kendrick Lamar, and said these mistakes have become a pattern. "It’s absolutely crazy. We are the absolute worst to ever do the celebrity thing. When we put celebrities up, we are the worst."
White said he even argued with his staff backstage about whether other sports are worse, before doubling down on his stance. "Oh no. We put up f*cking graphics and put the wrong guy’s name on it. We’re the worst ever to f*cking do it."
