8 UFC Fighters That Went To War With Dana White

Ever since Dana White was installed as UFC president by the Fertitta brothers following their purchase of the UFC in 2001, the Connecticut-born businessman has shown that he is no stranger to a war of words. That makes him beloved by fans, but like many promoters, White is often seen as something of a divisive figure behind the scenes.

Having initially served as a manager in the fight business prior to becoming the head honcho of the world's largest combat sports promotion, White knows what fighters want, and has earned a reputation as a ruthless negotiator when he feels it is necessary.

Unlike in boxing, White has successfully branded the UFC as the premier avenue for MMA, rather than the fighters themselves. In doing so, the name UFC is almost synonymous with the sport of mixed martial arts now, in a way not seen in other sports.

Much like his friend, US President Donald Trump, Dana has never been afraid of flexing his Twitter fingers and engaging in social media spats with fighters, fans, and members of the media.

These fighters decided not to take White's scorn lying down, resulting in some of the most memorable fighter versus promoter feuds in MMA history.

Standing over two metres tall, and having to cut weight to make a 265lb heavyweight limit, Tim Sylvia was one of the original behemoths of the UFC heavyweight division during the early years of the Zuffa era.

Despite his lumbering size, The Maine-iac possessed a fantastic jab, and good defensive grappling skills that allowed him to become one of the standout fighters among the giants at 265lbs.

Sylvia would even reach the top of the mixed martial arts mountain twice, defeating Ricco Rodriguez and Andrei Arlovski to twice win the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Despite his success inside the cage, Sylvia failed to endear himself to the UFC president, and after losing to Minotauro Nogueira with the interim title on the line, Sylvia would be granted his release from the UFC.

Unbeknownst to the UFC, Sylvia had decided to leave his contract so he could fight Fedor in the Affliction MMA promotion, infuriating Dana White.

After Sylvia's exploits outside of the UFC proved to be a mixed bag, a war of words broke out between Dana and his former champion. White stated that Sylvia would not be allowed to return to UFC, and his loss to former boxer Ray Mercer was "embarrassing".

Sylvia retorted in a 2015 interview with MMA Fighting:

"You know Dana White. He's just a f***ing d**k. He's just holding a grudge. They're pissed off because I went to support Affliction. I was sponsored by them for three years before that fight. Dana's just a d**k. He holds grudges."