"But you just praised Paige VanZant" - Pair of ex-UFC champions rip into Dana White for biased treatment with never-heard-before stories

A pair of former UFC champions have lambasted UFC CEO Dana White for his purportedly biased treatment. They've seemingly unraveled never-before-heard stories of the alleged discrimination they faced at the hands of White.

In a recent edition of the JAXXON podcast, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson hosted former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

Jackson notably recalled informing White that he was injured heading into his fight against Ryan Bader in Japan in February 2012. Given 'Rampage's incredible popularity in Japan, he didn't withdraw from the matchup and fought despite the injury, but lost via unanimous decision.

Dana White later publicly questioned Quinton Jackson's will to fight. Revealing that White's betrayal destroyed his love for fighting and made him change his habit of never pulling out of fights, 'Rampage' stated:

"First thing Dana do in the press conference like, 'I don't know what's going on with 'Rampage.' I don't think he has it. I don't think he want it anymore.' I was like, 'Man!' That's when I, after all the sh** Dana did to me, when he did that sh**, that's when I kind of got pi**ed at him."

Meanwhile, Tyron Woodley alluded that he entered his UFC welterweight title matchup against Demian Maia in July 2017 in spite of having torn his labrum in his right arm (his power arm). White knew about the same but still publicly condemned Woodley for his lackluster performance in his unanimous decision victory over Maia.

'The Chosen One' claimed that he called Dana White and demanded a public apology but the UFC frontman responded angrily and didn't issue any sort of public apology. Pointing out the difference in the way White publicly spoke about him and his (White's) then-UFC favorite Paige VanZant, Woodley said:

"You just told everybody nobody wanna watch me fight [after the Maia matchup]. But you just praised Paige VanZant -- Bless her heart. That's my dawg. She fought a tough fight. She was courageous. And she lost the fight when she lost with that arm. Remember when she was fighting Jessica-Rose Clark? But they saluted her on fighting injured."

Check out Jackson and Woodley's comments at 44:00 below:

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A closer look at the paradigm shift in Dana White's relationship with Paige VanZant

Back in January 2018, Paige VanZant went the three-round distance in a unanimous decision defeat against Jessica-Rose Clark despite having suffered a gruesome arm injury while attempting a spinning back fist in round two.

Dana White and many others lauded '12 Gauge' for her resilience. Regardless, VanZant's losses in the UFC dented her star power and after her UFC 251 defeat in July 2020, White himself advised her to leave the UFC and test free agency.

Paige VanZant ended up parting ways with the UFC, made her professional wrestling debut for AEW, and also competed for BKFC in the bare-knuckle boxing realm. Furthermore, '12 Gauge' jibed at the UFC fighter pay, asserting that her career as an OnlyF**s model has garnered her considerably higher pay.