Dana White`s advice to Adin Ross was not what the streamer expected when he attended Ross`s inaugural cage fighting event.
The UFC president was among the celebrities present at Ross` Brand Risk Promotions event on Friday in Miami, ahead of UFC 314. He witnessed a night of mixed-quality fights, including a knockout involving one of the Island Boys.
While White expressed more positive views on Brand Risk`s event compared to competing promotions, his advice for Ross moving forward was still not encouraging. Ross, known for his boxing events, ventured into kickboxing and MMA in a cage for the first time.
Dana White Advises Adin Ross: ‘Stay Out of This Business’
On Friday night, Dana White went directly from the UFC 314 weigh-ins to Adin Ross` Brand Risk Promotions boxing event. He watched influencers compete in a cage under amateur kickboxing rules during an unusual night of events.
He joined Hunter Campbell, his associate, and boxing champion Teofimo Lopez at the commentary desk. When Ross asked for advice after finding his first cage fighting event challenging, White was blunt.
The UFC boss told Ross to “stay out of this business, it’s not as easy as it looks.” Ross appeared to take the comment lightly, laughing it off and suggesting to White that he “might have to go back to boxing.”
Dana White Acknowledges Brand Risk Promotions Outperforming UFC Competitors
Despite his discouraging advice, Dana White and Hunter Campbell were notably complimentary about the event organized by Adin Ross during fight week. White pointed out that the viewership numbers exceeded those of PFL and ONE Championship, UFC`s competitors in the MMA scene.
“Listen, you’ve put on a show,” White told Ross during a segment. “The place is packed, people are here, and you’ve got half a million viewers online, plus Drake is reaching out to you about it. I’d say you’re doing pretty well.”
“That’s more than all of our competitors are getting right now. If you look at anyone trying to compete with us, you’ve got more going on here than they do,” White stated.
Hunter Campbell supported this, confirming that Ross had a higher viewership, with over 120,000 concurrent viewers on Kick. “That’s factually correct,” he added. “You have more viewers than pretty much anyone competing with the UFC at the moment.”
Rupert Hartwell