UFC’s Dana White defends Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation

UFC President Dana White has come out in defense of UFC commentator Joe Rogan after 270 medical professionals called on Spotify to take action…

By: Karim Zidan | 1 year ago
UFC’s Dana White defends Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

UFC President Dana White has come out in defense of UFC commentator Joe Rogan after 270 medical professionals called on Spotify to take action against “mass misinformation” on the comedian’s “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

Asked to share his thoughts on the open letter following the UFC Vegas 46 event on Saturday, White expressed surprise before defending Rogan’s support for unfounded COVID-19 treatments such as the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin.

“Ever since I came out and said what I did, it’s almost impossible to get monoclonal antibodies,” White said at the UFC Vegas 46 post-fight press conference. “They’re making it so you can’t get them. Medicine that absolutely works, they’re keeping from us.”

After testing positive for COVID-19 last month, White followed in Rogan’s footsteps by taking a cocktail of doctor-prescribed medication, including combination of Ivermectin, Z-Pak, Prednisone, and monoclonal antibodies, along with an NAD and Vitamin C drip. Five days later, White declared himself COVID-free and thanked “Dr. Joe Rogan” for the supposed medical advice.

Given the UFC President’s experience with COVID-19, it comes as little surprise that he continues to defend the use of alternative medication while also claiming that the government is denying people access to alternative options.

“I don’t want to get too political and start getting into all this s***, but ivermectin and monoclonal antibodies have been around for a long time,” White said. “Now all of a sudden you can’t dig them up to save your life. The doctors won’t give them to you.”

It is worth noting that White made no mention of the FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine, which has not only proven to be effective in combatting the virus, but is also both free and readily available to the entire American population.

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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