Dana White was front and center during the UFC 318 pre-fight press conference.
Throughout 2025, the UFC boss has been criticized by fans for skipping pre-event festivities.
Dana White has been fully present ahead of Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight on Saturday night.
On Thursday, the MMA mogul hosted the UFC 318 press conference before ducking out of one key duty for a wholesome reason.
Daniel Cormier oversees UFC 318 face-off
At the end of the event, Dana White oversaw fighter staredowns as he typically does.
However, he allowed UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier to take his place when Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway got on the stage.
‘DC’ has a close relationship with both fighters, which may explain why he oversaw the face-off.
The former dual-weight UFC champion is also a Louisiana native, so it seems even more likely that White stepped aside to give Cormier the chance to share a special moment with the partisan New Orleans crowd.
Max Holloway encourages the crowd to boo him
White’s kind gesture was in line with the overall feel of the UFC 318 press conference.
Poirier and Holloway share a deep respect for each other after previously facing off twice.
‘Blessed’ was so keen to ensure the crowd was pumped up for Poirier’s final fight, so he encouraged them to boo him every time he got the chance to talk.
“Bring on more of the boos, please,” Holloway said.
“Give this man his respect.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”