Dana White has received both praise and criticism over the years but when it comes to fight night, it’s up to the athletes to deliver.
UFC 282 on December 10 of 2022 was shaping up to be a more than competent PPV card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Along with matchups like Ilia Topuria vs Bryce Mitchell and Dricus du Plessis vs Darren Till, the co-main event featured one of the promotion’s hottest stars with Paddy Pimblett beating Jared Gordon in controversial fashion.
The lightweight contest wasn’t the only clash that left some fans disappointed with the main event also leaving White very frustrated.
A new light heavyweight champion was set to be crowned but following a five round contest between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev, the division was right back to where it was the day before.
Dana White instantly booked a new vacant title fight after Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev ended in a draw
In the main event of UFC 282, Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a split draw which meant that the title stayed vacant.
The 205 pound division was in a strange position after Jiri Prochazka vacated the belt due to injury, and this matchup didn’t help the situation.
In his post-fight press conference, Dana White made his feelings on the fight and Ankalaev’s reaction to the result very clear.
“What are you gonna do? I thought the main event was terrible. You know, what are you gonna do?
“I don’t even know, I started to like zone out after like three f—— rounds. I heard Ankalaev is upset and whatever, what do you want me to do? You got beat up the first two rounds.”
Whenever the UFC president is asked about what’s next for any member of the roster at a post-fight press conference, you can expect to hear him say that he doesn’t book fights in the immediate aftermath.
Those conversations are usually saved for the matchmaker meetings that take place several days later, but in this case, White wanted to immediately move on from the underwhelming outcome of UFC 282.
He stated at the press conference that plans were already in place to have two different competitors fight for the vacant title, with the matchup taking place at UFC 283 the following month.
“Well, you do Glover [Teixeira] vs Jamahal Hill in Brazil for the vacant title. Done.”
When White was thanked for breaking some news, when he usually doesn’t provide fight updates on the night of an event, he replied that this was a special occasion.
“Yeah, you’re welcome. It’s what I do. That’s me, it’s Christmas.”
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The UFC’s light heavyweight division was constantly hit with curve balls around this time
Though Jamahal Hill’s dominant win over Glover Teixeira appeared to signal that the light heavyweight division could finally get back on track, this did not last long.
Hill would vacate the title in July of 2023 after rupturing his Achilles tendon during a basketball game on International Fight Week which would keep him out of action for some time.
‘Sweet Dreams’ would make his return the following year at UFC 300 where he was defeated by Alex Pereira, who had won the vacant title by stopping Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295.
Following his disastrous night at UFC 282, Magomed Ankalaev would finally claim the 205 pound gold when he beat Pereira earlier this year.