Dana White says UFC is a dictatorship. Why not one for boxing?
The power politics of Turki Alalshikh's Canelo vs. Crawford press conferences.
Dana Whitewasher.
You know how there used to be an avalanche of sports political columns uttering the phrase “sportswashing”? The reason sportswashing never had an impact on motivating society is because no one knew what it was about.
If you asked 100 different people what “sportswashing” meant, you would get 100 different answers. It was simply too vague and amorphous linguistically to pack a punch.
But now we have an amazing visual definition in 2025 of what sportswashing really, truly is. Dana Whitewashing.
No, this article is not a moral or political lecture about world affairs. I’m as bewildered as the rest of you watching the era of Alligator Alcatraz and original Alcatraz plus sharks unfolding. Trump and Turki Alalshikh have a common interest they can bond together about over at a future State dinner.
We’re long past the stage of wagging a finger in someone’s face over who has better character. In 2025, Americans have largely weighed and measured idealism and have found it wanting. Sloganeering and marketing of idealism is a different story, however.
The verdict is in: Americans are far less upset about corruption than they are about incompetence surrounding corruption. If you’re Paul Heyman, you are celebrated as a king. If you’re an athlete being investigated in a gambling scandal, expect non-stop shame and derision on social media.
This is the lens to view the usefulness of Dana White as a Brand Ambassador in 2025 for Donald Trump.
Dana Whitewashing is marketing the belief that benevolent state dictatorship, through Wall Street or sovereign wealth funds or world governments as co-promoters, is the best way to get the fights the public wants to see in 2025. The Golden Age of the Benevolent Dictator. He who has the gold makes the rules.
And if fighters or managers or promoters don’t want to cooperate? Then maybe a lack of benevolence would serve the public good.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak as the good cop and Turki Alalshikh as the bad cop? You don’t want to go to prison, do you?
Call it The Zuffa Myth reborn with a razor-sharp edge. Or, to state it crudely, give me my shit no matter what.
Is Dana White as much of an official Trump envoy, at this point, as Steve Witkoff?
Whether it’s UFC Russia or negotiations for hostages, an upcoming government invitation from Beijing, a fat government contract from Azerbaijan, financial ownership from the Emirates, or a boxing partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one thing is very clear:
Dana White is the numbing agent to normalize what was once previously unthinkable to the masses in combat sports.
As UFC President in 2025, Dana White is largely unfocused and inconsistent in front of the cameras. As a brand ambassador for his richest political allies, however, Dana is proving to be one very useful marketing tool.
Some recent verbal and physical cues expressed by Dana, Turki Alalshikh, and TKO’s business partners during the Canelo vs. Crawford media world tour revealed some rather goose-bump generating developments for fight fans.
Only one person — one Superwoman — has been able to offer up any sort of resistance.
Your future choices for independent promotional competition in combat sports are melting away faster than an ice cream Popsicle on a hot Summer day.