UFC CEO Dana White has had a busy stretch so far in 2026. From embarking on a new media deal with Paramount Plus, to starting a new boxing promotion and putting together a one-off event on The White House grounds, Dana White has been front and center for it all.

Such was the case on Saturday night for Dana White. Toyota Center was the setting for UFC Houston. During the night’s main event, Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) finished off Anthony Hernandez (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 9-3 UFC) with a third-round knockout with a knee to the body and follow-up shots.

Strickland’s week was one filled with controversial comments right to the very end. On Wednesday, at the UFC Houston media day, the victorious half of the main event made crass comments regarding Bad Bunny, who headlined Super Bowl LX’s halftime show two weeks ago this evening, using an offensive slur to describe him.

Sean Strickland Gets Microphone Muted, Dana White Discusses Strickland’s Comments

Despite a very cordial post-fight interview with Michael Bisping on Saturday evening and Strickland asking Anthony Hernandez to join him as he spoke, the story was different once he got backstage and met with the press. A member of the UFC’s public relations department informed Sean Strickland that his time at the podium expired.

After continuing with his comments, Sean Strickland’s microphone was abruptly silenced. Strickland’s comments came moments after the UFC CEO took members of the media to task over what happened earlier in the week.

“It’s a nightmare,” Dana White said in reference to Strickland’s comments on Wednesday. “You guys don’t help, asking him dumb (expletive deleted.) “Ask dumb (censored,) you’re going to get dumb (censored.) ‘What did you think of Bad Bunny?’ ‘What did you think of the Super Bowl?’ Get out of here. Are you kidding me? When you talk about what Strickland says, you like to push the buttons.”

Nothing New for Either Dana White or Sean Strickland

By now, press conferences like the one that took place backstage at Toyota Center this past weekend are old hat for both parties. Dana White will tell it as he sees it, and Sean Strickland will offer his opinions on whatever the topic is.

With public figures in sports organizations, most times in press conferences, you’ll get a scenario where the commissioner or CEO opens up with a prepared statement drafted ahead of time, after which the floor is opened up for questions from the assembled media. Dana White is the antithesis of that.

Unlike his contemporaries, the Roger Goodell and Adam Silver-types of the world, the CEO of the UFC doesn’t follow any sort of script. His methodology: Shoot from the hip and make no apologies. This is what sets him apart from the commissioners of team sports leagues.

Final Thoughts: Dana White Can’t be Muzzled

If Roger Goodell or Rob Manfred took to the podium for a press conference at a marquee event and said what Dana White said on the microphone this past Saturday night, you can believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that it would only lead to further questions. White is the same man who said a few years ago that the UFC would not do what he considered woke.

When people think of MMA, aside from competitors, among the first names people think of is that of Dana White. When he gets on the microphone for a press conference, he sends a message to those on press row of “This is my world. You’re just living in it.”

Even though the UFC’s PR department put a stop to what Sean Strickland had to say on Saturday night, Dana White himself can’t be silenced. Don’t expect it to change any time soon.