UFC star Renato Moicano isn’t happy with CEO Dana White’s recent defense of the promotion’s recent use of AI for marketing purposes.
UFC CEO Dana White and the promotion were in hot water when they released their latest promo ahead of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
During the UFC 327 broadcast, a pre-fight promo aired featuring Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira, and several other fighters scheduled to appear at the unprecedented event. The problem: all of the fighters featured in the advertisement were generated by Artificial Intelligence.
This led many to criticize White and the UFC for refusing to hire an in-person staff to produce pre-fight promo material, and questioned the promotion’s potential future use of AI. In response, White dismissed criticism, saying he ‘doesn’t give a s***’ about critics of the UFC’s controversial promo.
One UFC star, Renato Moicano, took a surprising stance against his employers and their use of AI.
Renato Moicano: UFC’s AI use for promos ‘disrespectful to the fans’
In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Moicano was asked about the controversial UFC White House promo and didn’t hold back.
“I saw it, and I didn’t like it at all. UFC’s not going to be very happy for me to say that, but I didn’t like it. I think that’s disrespectful towards the fans, because I’m a fan myself,” Moicano said.
“If you can’t put Alex Pereira or Ilia Topuria on an airplane and put them in Washington D.C., in front of the White House, I think that’s sloppy. I don’t like to use AI on my stuff at all. I’m not saying it doesn’t help for some stuff, but not for content [purposes].
“People can see when it’s sloppy, and that’s brain-rotting everybody right now.”
Moicano is fresh off a win over Chris Duncan at the UFC Apex and is targeting a return to the Octagon this summer.
Do you agree with Renato Moicano’s stance? Let us know in the comments