5 best UFC memes from 2024 feat. Dana White

MMA is a serious sport, and the UFC is the world's premier mixed martial arts organization. It routinely witnesses serious, high-level combat sports contests. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that things always have to be intense. The UFC has time and again provided fight fans with a wide variety of funny moments/incidents.

The year gone by, 2024, was no different. From memes regarding UFC CEO and president Dana White to those derived from iconic moments inside the octagon, it had it all! Today, we shed light on some of the very best from the long list of UFC memes from 2024.

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#5 Riyadh Season Noche UFC: The Terence Crawford Kendrick Lamar meme

The UFC 306 (aka Riyadh Season Noche UFC) event went down at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September 2024. It was a historic night at the one-of-a-kind venue. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chair of Saudi Arabia's GEA (General Entertainment Authority), was in attendance for the event sponsored by the nation's Riyadh Season venture.

Boxing megastar Canelo Alvarez was booked to defend his middleweight belts against Edgar Berlanga at the nearby T-Mobile Arena. Boxing great Terence Crawford also attended the UFC event and was seated alongside Alalshikh. At one point, the UFC broadcast showed them together on-screen, with the on-screen description referring to Crawford as hip-hop icon Kendrick Lamar.

It was a major gaffe in the otherwise flawless production. UFC boss Dana White lightheartedly acknowledged it during the post-fight press conference and expressed his disappointment over the production error. Crawford had notably posted an Instagram video, calling out Alvarez, with Alalshikh also chiming in and urging the Mexican to fight 'Bud.'

The aforementioned video was filled with jokes about Crawford being confused with the award-winning musician Lamar. Memes of Crawford and Lamar being misidentified as one another were since used in the combat sports and hip-hop communities through 2024.

Check out the on-screen description below:

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#4 'Old Man Volk'

Alexander Volkanovski appeared in a promo for a sportsbook in early 2024, portraying a comedic character that came to be known as 'Old Man Volk.' The skit was so well-received that he's since portrayed that character multiple times online and at public events, even inspiring some fans to sport similar costumes.

It was a lighthearted take on the speculation that 'Volk' was 35-plus and that older fighters (particularly in the lighter weight classes) supposedly experience a decline in their performance.

During the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference in February 2024, Volkanovski donned the character's get-up. He even jokingly pretended to fall asleep, being woken up by UFC middleweight Paulo Costa.

Unfortunately, Volkanovski was knocked out and lost his UFC featherweight championship to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. It marked the Australian's second consecutive MMA defeat, having been knocked out by UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in his previous fight in October 2023.

Memes of Volkanovski's 'Old Man Volk' look were later Photoshopped on his own knocked-out self from the UFC 298 event. The meme template was also used in other MMA jokes and online discussions.

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#3 Alex Pereira's Khaby Lame celebration

Former two-division Glory kickboxing champion and former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira has often credited ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira for guiding him with MMA's grappling aspect. Pereira, who's the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, notably fought ex-UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jamahal Hill in the headlining match of UFC 300 (April 2024).

Hill had directed considerable verbal jabs at Pereira heading into that fight. The American had also outpointed Teixeira to win the 205-pound title in early 2023 before vacating it due to injury later that year. Well, Pereira avenged his friend and mentor's loss to Hill by knocking the latter out in the first round at UFC 300.

'Poatan' then celebrated by using a gesture that netizens often associate with social media influencer Khaby Lame. Pereira later alluded to Hill's pre-fight trash talk and implied that his gesture was a way of asking whether that was all the American fighter had to offer him.

Pereira's gesture, and the iconic photograph of him standing over a downed Hill, have since been used in many memes by fight fans.

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#2 The Ilia Topuria meme that backfired

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has long been counted among the greatest MMA featherweights ever. 'Blessed' clashed ex-interim UFC lightweight champion and then-BMF champion Justin Gaethje, for the BMF belt, at UFC 300 in April 2024. Holloway put on a striking clinic and scored a fifth-round KO in the fight's closing moments to win the BMF belt, which he still holds.

Amid Holloway's celebrations, the camera briefly showed UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who was in attendance for the event. 'El Matador's expressions from different shots from the same went viral and were used in various fan memes. Most of them suggested that he was scared about possibly having to defend his featherweight belt against Holloway next.

The meme was extensively utilized during the build-up to the Topuria-Holloway featherweight title fight, which transpired at UFC 308 in October 2024. Topuria ended up silencing his critics and those who used the aforementioned memes against him, stopping Holloway via third-round KO.

It was the first time the iron chin Holloway had been stopped by knockout in his long and storied professional MMA career. Be that as it may, Topuria's supposedly odd reaction after Holloway's win at UFC 300 is considered long-term meme material. Holloway himself had stated that his favorite clip from UFC 300 was Topuria's reaction to his knockout win over Gaethje.

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#1 Dana White oil meme

The Dana White oil meme is one that was widely used in the MMA community throughout 2024. It's believed to have originated in late 2023, when a fan, in the comments section of an Instagram Live session conducted by White, suggested that they wanted to oil him up. White read the comment out loud, noting:

"'I wanna oil you up.' What the f**k does that mean?"

Check out a Dana White Oil meme clip in the tweets below:

White's acknowledgment of the remark led more fans to repeat such comments in his ensuing Instagram Live sessions and on various other social media posts featuring him. Edited images of White being oiled up or with the meme caption popped up in MMA circles online.

Social media influencer and UFC personality, Nina-Marie Daniele, notably chimed in on the meme. In January 2024, she put forth an Instagram post, indicating that if it hit 10k comments, White would either have to announce the UFC 300 headlining match that week or get oiled up.

The post swiftly achieved the requisite likes from netizens, but White didn't announce the headlining match by the deadline. Fans demanded that White ought to agree to get oiled up, but that didn't materialize.

Another element attached to the meme was White once speculating whether the meme had something to do with UFC fighter-turned-manager Tiki Ghosn. White took the meme in his stride and even appeared with bottles of oil in videos, including one with Daniele. The MMA community even made a theme song about the meme.

Watch Nina-Marie Daniele dance to the song below: