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Dana White is the preeminent authority figure in MMA. While he may not officially be the UFC's most powerful executive, he's the public face of the promotion and someone that UFC fighters, past and present, are accustomed to dealing with. Thus, any proposed matchups that involve fighters from different divisions, and especially different sports, must be approved by Dana White himself.
In the past, the UFC president has made exceptions to specific rules he once had immutable stances over. The most high-profile example was his approval of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s boxing match with Conor McGregor. Before and after the bout, however, Dana White maintained his usual approach to such situations, recently cooling down talk of a potential boxing match involving Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury.
What is curious, though, is that even the dream matchups White himself once sought to schedule ultimately collapsed due to his approach to the negotiations. This list examines five fantasy matchups that didn't happen because of Dana White.
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#5. Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg
The biggest dream match in the history of women's MMA is undoubtedly Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg. The two are among the most dominant WMMA fighters the world has ever seen, and while they've been signed to the same promotion on two separate occassions, a bout between the two never came to fruition.
Both women were Strikeforce champions, with Cyborg fighting in the division above Rousey's. Unfortunately, when the UFC came into ownership of all Strikeforce contracts, the Brazilian bruiser was not among the wave of Strikeforce fighters who made the move to the UFC, as there was no weight class that could accommodate her.
Cyborg could drop no further than 145 pounds, as the cut to bantamweight came with serious health risks. So, when calls for a matchup between Rousey and her Brazilian rival reached Dana White's ears, it was believed that the bout could only take place at featherweight: a weight class Rousey had little experience in. W
White was adamant that if Cyborg wanted the fight, she'd have to make the impossible cut down to bantamweight. The UFC president's decision not to seriously pursue the matchup while simultaneously disparaging Cyborg delayed her signing with the UFC for years.
Even when Cyborg eventually signed with the promotion prior to Rousey's return bout with Amanda Nunes, White never made a serious attempt at booking what would have easily been the biggest fight in women's MMA history.
#4. Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey have been linked to each other throughout much of Rousey's MMA career, despite Carano's retirement from the sport back in 2009 after suffering a devastating TKO loss to Cris Cyborg.
To this day, she has not returned to the sport of mixed martial arts. At the height of Rousey's popularity circa 2014, a dream matchup with Gina Carano became a hot topic due to the superficial similarities between the two athletes. Not long afterwards, Dana White expressed a similar interest in the bout and established an official line of communication with Carano.
The UFC president offered the mixed martial artist-turned-Hollywood actress a large sum of money for the matchup: a rumored $1 million payday. While Carano accepted the offer, she did so under the impression that she'd be given ample time to prepare for the bout as she had not fought professionally in five years at the time.
Dana White, however, immediately announced the bout in the media. When the former Strikeforce champion expressed her surprise over his announcement, citing that she didn't even have a fight camp assembled, White used the media to pressure her. Before long, a text message from Dana White describing Carano in insulting terms found its way to her, bringing an end to the bout before she could even begin training for it, all due to the UFC President's conduct.
#3. Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko
There were multiple superfights during the 2010s that fans expressed an interest in seeing. Among those fights were Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva, Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones, and Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez.
None of those fights ever materialized, partly due to Dana White's low interest in booking them. However, one fight from that era that the UFC President did fight ardently to book was the heavyweight superfight between Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko. At the time, Brock Lesnar was the biggest star in UFC history, while Fedor Emelianenko was widely considered the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
While White offered the Russian legend an estimated $2 million payday and an immediate title fight with the then reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, Emelianenko questioned Dana White's conduct during the negotiations.
According to Emelianenko, the UFC President gave the impression of someone who valued money over respect, so 'The Emperor' expressed his belief that White had no respect for fighters and even claimed that he felt the UFC President had no respect for any human being.
Due to the horrible impression Dana White left on Emelianenko, the Russian ultimately refused the UFC's offer, with even White describing his failure to schedule the bout as one of his only regrets.
#2. Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Before Khabib Nurmagomedov's sudden retirement from MMA, a matchup with UFC welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre was one of the most widely discussed dream fights.
Nurmagomedov once described St-Pierre as a fighter whom his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, respected and admired more than any other mixed martial artist. Furthermore, 'The Eagle' claimed that the one fight his late father one day hoped his son would earn was a bout with the Canadian great.
A matchup between the two would have likely been one of the biggest fights in MMA history. Nurmagomedov was the undefeated lightweight champion and had never even been dropped, hurt, or cut in the octagon. St-Pierre is a legend who captured championships at both welterweight and middleweight, avenging every single loss of his career.
Aiming to be the only UFC fighter to capture titles across three different divisions, 'Rush' was eager to fight Nurmagomedov, just as 'The Eagle' yearned to prove his own greatness against his late father's favorite fighter.
Dana White, however, had other plans. The UFC president has not forgiven St-Pierre for forfeiting the middleweight title after defeating Michael Bisping for the championship at UFC 217. According to White, St-Pierre had agreed to defend the championship he'd won, but instead relinquished it.
Fearing a repeat of the same incident should 'Rush' defeat Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, Dana White openly expressed his disinterest in the bout. Thus, the fight never materialized, and when White attempted to use the matchup to later entice the undefeated Russian out of retirement, it was too late.
#1. Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury
Francis Ngannou is one of the UFC's first three African champions, alongside Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya. Usman is a power-wrestler, Adesanya is an elusive counter-striker, and Ngannou is a terrifying knockout artist with crippling punching power.
Prior to pursuing a career in mixed martial arts, 'The Predator' first dreamt of a career in boxing. It was a dream that gained even more prominence after the Cameroonian achieved MMA success, instilling in him the belief that he could accomplish the same in the sport of boxing.
So, when a dispute over fighter pay ensued between Dana White and Francis Ngannou, it led to more issues surfacing. Ngannou, now the UFC heavyweight champion, had contractual demands that included the freedom to pursue boxing bouts.
In particular, the Cameroonian sought a matchup with undefeated heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, who expressed mutual interest in facing Ngannou in a boxing match with small, four-ounce gloves. The matchup generated a fair amount of interest, with Fury even calling Ngannou into the ring following his dominant win over Dillian Whyte.
Dana White was quick to express his annoyance with the proposed matchup. He described crossover fights as stupid and buried Ngannou's boxing skills by citing how the Cameroonian had wrestled Ciryl Gane.
