Dana White: Joining the Board at Meta, the Bryce Mitchell Controversy, and His Friendship With Trump

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Tucker Carlson Show Episode: Dana White: Joining the Board at Meta, the Bryce Mitchell Controversy, and His Friendship With Trump
Release Date: February 3, 2025

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Introduction to Dana White's Role at Meta

In this episode, host Tucker Carlson engages in an in-depth conversation with Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The discussion delves into White's recent appointment to the board of Meta (formerly Facebook), his friendship with former President Donald Trump, and the ongoing controversy surrounding UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell.

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Dana White's Relationship with Donald Trump

Building a Strong Alliance Dana White emphasizes his close personal and professional relationship with Donald Trump, highlighting their long-standing friendship and mutual respect.

Dana White (02:04): "I have a great relationship with this guy [Trump]. We are very close."

Impact of Trump's Assassination Attempt White recounts a pivotal moment when Trump was nearly assassinated, illustrating Trump's resilience and unwavering commitment.

Dana White (03:14): "When you almost get assassinated the way that he was, I think it messes with you a little bit... he made a complete recovery."

Trump's Influence Post-Assassination White observes that Trump's experience has fortified his leadership qualities, making him more decisive and in command.

Dana White (03:58): "He's doing the opposite of everything you'd recommend, but running the world."

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Joining the Meta Board

Initial Interaction with Mark Zuckerberg White shares the story of how Mark Zuckerberg approached him to join Meta's board, leading to their personal and professional collaboration.

Dana White (13:42): "He said, 'I think you're a great businessman... I would be honored if you would sit on the board for Meta.'"

Purpose and Expectations While acknowledging Meta's reputation for censorship, White positions his role as bringing "spine" and "common sense" to the company's decision-making processes.

Dana White (21:57): "I'm looking forward to it. And I think that when I can add value, I will speak up."

Interactions with Silicon Valley Leaders White highlights a trend of Silicon Valley executives, including Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, fostering relationships with Trump, viewing it as a move towards common sense and resilience post the "woke" era.

Dana White (13:42): "I've started to create a relationship from there. We talked, and, you know, he's a UFC fan, and we became friends."

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Bryce Mitchell Controversy

Handling Controversial Statements The episode addresses the situation involving UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell, whose recent remarks were deemed offensive. White outlines his direct and unfiltered approach to managing such controversies.

Dana White (16:31): "I started looking up World War II and... remind Bryce Mitchell on what a piece of Hitler was."

Commitment to Authenticity White emphasizes that his responses are genuine and not scripted, reflecting his true feelings and commitment to maintaining the integrity of the UFC.

Dana White (16:31): "Nobody writes anything for me. Everything is exactly how I feel about it, whether you like it or not."

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State of Free Speech and Censorship

Advocacy for Free Speech Both Carlson and White underscore the importance of maintaining free speech, especially within American society, contrasting it with perceived global suppression.

Dana White (24:35): "The only place where there is true free speech is in America."

Meta's Role in Global Media White likens Meta to a new-age media giant, asserting its significant influence comparable to traditional networks and newspapers.

Dana White (25:30): "Facebook, Instagram, X, etc., are the new media... more powerful."

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Reflections on Professional Sports Leagues

Critique of the NBA White offers a candid assessment of the NBA, lamenting the decline in its competitive spirit and the impact of commercialization on the game's integrity.

Dana White (31:00): "The NBA has gotten soft... the NBA just isn't like that [competitive spirit] since Kobe."

Comparison with the UFC and NFL He contrasts the NBA's trajectory with that of the UFC and NFL, emphasizing the UFC's relentless drive and the NFL's enduring dominance despite challenges.

Dana White (30:18): "The NFL is as powerful as powerful could be. The NBA ratings are dropping."

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Dana White's Personal Insights and Future Aspirations

Unwavering Commitment White passionately declares his intent to remain active in the UFC, underscoring his dedication and refusal to retire.

Dana White (34:15): "I will never retire, ever. I will keep dogging this out until the day I drop dead."

Views on Industry Leadership He expresses disdain for established figures like boxing promoter Bob Arum, while also acknowledging their influence and longevity in the sports industry.

Dana White (34:33): "He's the biggest douchebag of all time... How do you not respect that?"

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Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive look into Dana White's multifaceted role as a UFC leader, Meta board member, and close ally of Donald Trump. White's perspectives on free speech, media influence, and the state of professional sports offer listeners a nuanced understanding of his influence both within and outside the sports world.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Dana White on Trump's Resilience:
  [03:14] "When you almost get assassinated the way that he was, I think it messes with you a little bit... he made a complete recovery."

• Dana White on Joining Meta's Board:
  [13:42] "He said, 'I think you're a great businessman... I would be honored if you would sit on the board for Meta.'"

• Dana White on Handling Bryce Mitchell:
  [16:31] "Nobody writes anything for me. Everything is exactly how I feel about it, whether you like it or not."

• Dana White on Free Speech in America:
  [24:35] "The only place where there is true free speech is in America."

• Dana White on the NBA's Decline:
  [31:00] "The NBA has gotten soft... the NBA just isn't like that [competitive spirit] since Kobe."

• Dana White's Commitment to UFC:
  [34:15] "I will never retire, ever. I will keep dogging this out until the day I drop dead."

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing listeners with a clear and detailed overview of the topics addressed by Tucker Carlson and Dana White.

Transcript

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[Tucker Carlson]

People love slapping.

[Dana White]

They love slapping. Yes.

[Tucker Carlson]

Are you shocked?

[Dana White]

No, I'm not shocked because I have this sort of gut thing I have. And, and when I first started watching it, what's crazy is two nights ago, we. We did the event here, and the guy who won the world title was the guy that got me into it when I started watching this stuff a few years ago, this guy named Dumpling out of Siberia, Russia. I'm not kidding you. I'm not kidding you. When we first paid him, he. I think he wanted 25,003 goats.

[Tucker Carlson]

Did you come up with a male or female goats?

[Dana White]

Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know the answer to that question, but he got 25,003 goats. That was the first. Yeah. Dumpling from Siberia, the guy who got me into this became the world champion here in Saudi Arabia.

[Tucker Carlson]

I think it seems more painful than getting punched.

[Dana White]

I don't know about that. When you. What you're gonna watch tonight, listen, you take a minimum of three slaps and slap. Yeah, you're gonna see shins to the face, elbows, kicks, slams. Yeah, you slap me all day. Shin to the face is. Nah.

[Tucker Carlson]

No, you're right.

[Dana White]

Yeah, you're absolutely. Or an elbow.

[Tucker Carlson]

I saw you two weeks ago on stage at the inauguration. What was that like?

[Dana White]

It was awesome. Obviously, you know, like me, you have a great relationship with this guy. And to see him to be this far away when he was taking his oath, how cool is that? I mean, it was. It was awesome.

[Tucker Carlson]

So I think you've. I think you've known him better than almost. Almost anyone around him for longer.

[Dana White]

He and I are very close.

[Tucker Carlson]

I know. And have been for a long time. And that became pretty obvious late in the campaign when even though you're not political, you wound up kind of associated with Trump just because you know him so well. Do you think he's changed in the last. Since July when he got shot.

[Dana White]

Do you notice a change for the better?

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

Yeah.

[Tucker Carlson]

How?

[Dana White]

Yeah, I think that. Listen, at the end of the day, as resilient and as tough as this Guy is, you know, when you almost get assassinated the way that he was, I think it messes with you a little bit. And the thing about him is I talked to him, I was flying to Italy when he was shot at. And I called him as soon as I landed and he had just got home from the hospital and he seemed unfazed.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yes.

[Dana White]

Which is, it's just not even, it's not humanly possible, but he did. But then after, after that, he flew the next day to the RNC in Milwaukee and literally never, never rested, never took a break, never stayed out of the limelight after almost getting shot. And I don't know, I just felt like it for him. It affected him, but he made a complete recovery from that thing he did.

[Tucker Carlson]

I talked to him also that night and he seemed totally unaffected. But how could you be totally unaffected? Do you think there were long term, consequently good consequences? I mean, he went on to be more successful than he's ever been. Right.

[Dana White]

It's just a testament to his toughness, his resilience, his grittiness. And I think this is what I truly believe. I think that to his core, he believes that God spared him to, to, to run this country for the next four years. And I think that had a lot to do with his mentality coming out of that, you know, assassination attempt.

[Tucker Carlson]

Because he does seem calmer. He certainly seems more decisive and in command. I mean, that's just from watching it.

[Dana White]

Brilliant. I'm Tucker. I went to Mar a Lago to be with him election night. He hadn't slept in like 72 hours. Then he wins the election. I jump on a plane. I flew to, flew to Las Vegas and picked up my wife and then I flew to Hawaii. And the guy's calling me the next, I mean, the guy doesn't sleep. He just keeps going and going and going and, you know, the rallies that he was doing leading up to the election night. And I left election night. I jumped on the plane at 4 in the morning. He was still up when I left at 4 in the morning. And I, I literally, I don't know if the guy slept since then. It's, it's unbelievable.

[Tucker Carlson]

I, all of that is totally real and on a diet that you would not like recommend to any person.

[Dana White]

Never seen him, still never seen him drink water. And you know, I, I, I, I've been with him a lot since the election, still haven't seen him drink water. He doesn't, it's just, I, he's, he's.

[Tucker Carlson]

He'S, what do you think that. Do you have any guesses? I mean, you're in the business of, like, getting maximum performance out of body and mind and spirit.

[Dana White]

Right.

[Tucker Carlson]

And he's doing the opposite of everything you'd recommend, but, you know, running the world.

[Dana White]

Yeah.

[Tucker Carlson]

Do you have any guesses as to how that happens?

[Dana White]

I don't know. I just have. You're unlike any human that I've ever met, you know, and I say it all the time. I've. I've never seen anybody that. That operates the way that this man does, and it's such a high. And, you know, what was. What was badass? The press conference that he had the other day, Right, when. When the helicopter crashed into the plane.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

Room was packed. He's calling off questions. People are jumping over each other, their hands are thrown up. When have you seen that kind of energy in the White House especially, you know, within the last however many years? You know, you had a guy who couldn't talk publicly. You had a vice president who couldn't speak publicly. You know, I, I know the, the girl who was the. In the last administration that the, you know, the secretary of, you know, whatever the hell she was, that, that goes out and does the press conferences. She's taken a lot of heat. But could you imagine having that job during the Biden administration?

[Tucker Carlson]

No.

[Dana White]

It had to be absolutely brutal, horrifying. Right. The girls got to go out and lie pretty much every day. And, and, and any type of question that made sense, she was just shut it down and walk out and leave. I mean, that had to be the worst job in America. There couldn't be a worse job.

[Tucker Carlson]

She did the worst job you could do.

[Dana White]

Yeah.

[Tucker Carlson]

At the worst job with, with what.

[Dana White]

She had to work with. I actually feel bad for that woman. I actually feel bad for that woman. Cut that woman some slack, please. I mean, imagine that's your job, that you have to go out during that administration and face the media every day. But anyway, that's besides the point. That was incredible. The last press conference, when he was out there, it was like people were climbing over each other. And he gets right in there, fires away and answers questions, and, you know, he's incredible. There's. There's. There's nothing like this guy. What.

[Tucker Carlson]

I mean, it seems.

[Dana White]

And how much he's done.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

Short amount of time that he's been there.

[Tucker Carlson]

So where's the opposition to him? It seems like all of a sudden, you know, we spent eight years hearing that, you know, he's evil tyrant who's going to suspend the Constitution and enslaved the nation, and then he wins. And you don't. There's like, kind of no opposition.

[Senator Roger Marshall]

What happened?

[Tucker Carlson]

Like, do you know any liberals still?

[Dana White]

Well, you know, it's funny, you know, I'm one of these guys, and you. And I've had this conversation before. I don't judge anybody by their politics.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

And I follow, like, CNN and MSNBC and all these other. And because I like to hear everybody. Msnbc, I don't even know how they're still on the air. They are the nuttiest. I had to unfollow for me to do that. It's like, I love hearing everybody's opinion. They are nuts. It's. It's like I can't even listen to them. They're so. It's almost like a comic strip. Like, it's a. It's a cartoon. That network. It's. It's like a cartoon. It's so bad. It's unbelievable. And, And, And. And it's the whole. If Trump says it's blue, they say it's black. If it's, you know, it's just. It's. It's so bad. But, yeah. No, but anyway, one by a landslide.

[Tucker Carlson]

Anyone in your personal life, like, do you feel like there's been a change?

[Dana White]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. There. There's not one person that I know that is a hardcore liberal and they're out there arguing about anything anymore. It's. It's. It's dead. It's all gone. Actually, the exact opposite. The people that I know that were very liberal, they're not very right, but they're definitely not very left.

[Tucker Carlson]

I know.

[Dana White]

Right.

[Tucker Carlson]

And everyone seems to have accepted free speech as the status quo now, like, I think so You've been sticking with that for. Well, through the middle of all of this, famously. But now people are like, yeah, okay, you know, I disagree, but you get to say what you think.

[Dana White]

Yeah. No.

[Tucker Carlson]

Does it feel that way?

[Dana White]

Yeah. Well, it needs to be that way. You can never let that go. You let that go, and we're all in big trouble, man.

[Tucker Carlson]

So.

[Dana White]

But I feel like. I also felt like after the election, there was a sigh of relief. And not just in the United States, but all over the world here and other countries that we go to. It's just everybody is celebrating the fact that Trump won the election on both.

[Tucker Carlson]

Sides of the conflict.

[Dana White]

I agree.

[Tucker Carlson]

In Israel and the Arab countries, both people were happy.

[Dana White]

I agree. At the power slap event the other night, you know, there are fans here, and I was talking to people and taking pictures and stuff. And people were saying to me, you have to tell Trump to stop this war. Trump has to stop this war. You know what I mean? They're looking at the American president to help what's going on over here, and.

[Tucker Carlson]

I hope he will. And in Russia and Ukraine, I think the Russians and the Ukrainians, maybe not Zelensky, but I think most Ukrainians. I've never met a Ukrainian. It's not for Trump. I've never met a Russian. It's not for Trump. I mean, it's just, it's just interesting.

[Dana White]

Could not agree with you because they.

[Tucker Carlson]

Think that, I mean, you've got fighters from all over the world.

[Dana White]

Yep.

[Tucker Carlson]

And the farther away they are from the United States, the more they are for Trump.

[Dana White]

Well, did you ever notice that every time I have Trump at a, at a UFC event, every fighter walks over to him and, you know, pays respect to him and all the fighters love him from all over the world. And it's been a huge sigh of relief since the election.

[Tucker Carlson]

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[Senator Roger Marshall]

Tucker says it best. The credit card companies are ripping Americans off and enough is enough. This is Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. Our legislation, the Credit Card Competition act, would help end the Grip Visa and MasterCard have on us. Every time you use your credit card, they charge you a hidden fee called a swipe fee. And They've been raising it without even telling you. This hurts consumers and every small business owner. In fact, American families are paying $1,100 in hidden swipe fees each year. The Fees Visa and MasterCard charge Americans are the highest in the world. Double Canadas and eight times more than Europe's. That's why I've taken action. But I need your help to help get this passed. I'm asking you to call your senator today and demand they pass the Credit Card Competition act.

[Dana White]

Paid for by the Merchants Payments Coalition, not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee.

[Tucker Carlson]

Www.merrestancespaymentscoalition.com Don Junior here, guys.

[Don Jr.]

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[Tucker Carlson]

Solve your tax problems today. Call 1-800-780-8888 or visit tnusa.com that's 1-800-780-888. So the biggest change, I, I haven't talked to Mark Zuckerberg in a while. Then all of a sudden I see him. He looks completely different. He puts you on the meta board and he's like, he seems like a Trump guy, I think. What is that?

[Dana White]

I think what you saw, not just Zuckerberg, I think you see all the guys from Silicon Valley now that are, you know, having dinner with Trump, showing up at the inauguration and creating a relationship with him. I feel like a lot of these people were during the, the woke nutty madness that we went through, you know, I guess I would call it during the COVID era and a little before that, are also relieved that it's over. And I think a lot of people, there was a very few people, there was a handful of people that actually stood up against us and weren't afraid to face, I don't know, whatever we might have faced during that thing. A lot of people got canceled. A lot of bad things happened to a lot of good people during that time, but there was a handful of people that stood up to it. And I think everybody's relieved that it's over.

[Tucker Carlson]

Are you concerned that at your next meet Meta meeting, you'll lock eyes with Mark Zuckerberg and he will steal your soul?

[Dana White]

I love.

[Tucker Carlson]

Do you not get that alien vibe at all?

[Dana White]

I actually like Mark. No. Listen, if I felt that way about Zuckerberg, I would have never been on the board. I would have never. So my. My. My head of PR actually hit me up one day and says, hey, Mark Zuckerberg's looking for your number. Can I give it to him? And I. I said, yeah, of course. So he called me and he said, would you mind coming up to my place in Tahoe and having dinner? And I said, what's this place in Tahoe like? I'll tell you. So I don't know. Mark Zuckerberg. Never talked to him. Saw the movie. You know, that. That's as much as I knew about Mark Zuckerberg. So I walk into his living room of his house, and they put me in the living room to wait, and he's got this American flag on the wall with, like, 13 stars on it or whatever, you know what I mean? And I'm, like, off to a good start in the back. He's got a house right on the lake. The biggest American flag you've ever seen in your life ripping in the wind in the backyard.

[Tucker Carlson]

Really?

[Dana White]

100. 100. Then he comes in, we sit down, we have dinner, and we probably talk for four hours. And I walked away from that first meeting liking Mark, and we started to create a relationship from there. We talked, and, you know, he's a UFC fan, and we became friends. Then the whole Elon vs Mark Zuckerberg fight thing, that was. That was going on at that time. That was real. And I was in the middle of it, and I had a blast doing the negotiations with that thing, Talking to Elon for an hour every night, talking to Mark an hour every night. And then I was literally.

[Tucker Carlson]

Were the negotiations about.

[Dana White]

About the fight, where it would be, what weight classes, this, that. What could you do? What couldn't you do? And I was literally doing conference calls with the government in Italy to do this thing in the Coliseum in Rome. And, you know, for the right number, the Coliseum was going to let us do that fight there. And then eventually it, you know, it started to fall apart. But while it lasted, it was fun. And through that, Mark and I became even closer. And then I flew from Italy to. To the rnc. I spoke at the rnc.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

And I flew back to Italy, my vacation with my family. And I got a text from Mark that said, hey, can you talk for a minute? Called him back, and he said, this is what he said to me. I think you're a great businessman. You always seem to be on the right side of everything. And my company needs a backbone. I would be honored if you would sit on the board for Meta and I.

[Tucker Carlson]

This was right after your RNC speech, Right after.

[Dana White]

As soon as I landed back in Italy.

[Tucker Carlson]

He gave $350 million to Joe Biden's campaign in 2020. That's kind of wild that he. He's watching you with the RNC and is like, I like what you have to say. I want you on the Meta board. Like, what do you make of that?

[Dana White]

I don't know. Yeah. I don't know.

[Tucker Carlson]

That's. That's interesting, you got to admit.

[Dana White]

Yeah. But that's how it all went down. That's. That's the. The. The beginning, up until today of my relationship with Mark. And, you know, I know a lot of people think my. My sister. My sister is as far right. My sister's like you, as far right as you could possibly get during the COVID era.

[Tucker Carlson]

She is a good person.

[Dana White]

Well, you met her. You and her hit it off in New York.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yes.

[Dana White]

I couldn't get you two apart in New York, but my. My. My sister, during the COVID area, I'd have to say, kelly, stop texting me. I stop. Okay. The world's not gonna. The world is not ending. So my sister had her, you know, her feelings about Zuckerberg and a lot of other people that are far right. But I'm. I'm just telling you, my relationship.

[Tucker Carlson]

Kelly is not far right. Kelly, basically a sense.

[Dana White]

Kelly's as far right as you are.

[Tucker Carlson]

So what did she think about you going in the Meta board?

[Dana White]

She, you know, she didn't love it, and, you know, but I said, listen, Mark Zuckerberg isn't. Is. Isn't what everybody thinks he is. He's not as bad as. As everybody thinks he is.

[Tucker Carlson]

Well, I do think it was. I mean, we're just watching it from afar, not talking to you about it. But I thought the one thing that everyone knows about you is you're opposed to censorship. You're clearly. I mean, again this week, you had. You came out and you said one of your fighters said something you thought was disgusting and you hated, but you're not firing him. Like, you've kind of taken a stand against censorship very publicly, again and again and again. You know, Facebook is known for censorship, so probably a good thing they're putting you on the board. Like, what's going to happen when you're sitting in the meeting? Like, we need to censor stuff we disagree with.

[Dana White]

I think that's why I'm there. I'm not there for my. My Technical capabilities, I can promise you that. And my, you know, what my theories on AI are and how we should, you know, I know my role there, and I've already been. I've already been in it. I mean, we've already had some situations and some things that we've dealt with. My first board meeting, actually in person, you know, up in. Up in Silicon Valley is a week after I fly from here to Sydney. We have a fight next Saturday, then I fly home, and then like a week later is my first board meeting where we're not on Zoom. So, yeah, I'm not. I know what my role is, and I'm the type of guy, I will speak at this thing when I can add value and when I think I, you know, I got a lot to learn. Never been on a board before. Run a company, big company now that deals in, you know, hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. And a lot of the things that I do are by. I. I would guess I would just say gut. And, and how I think we should handle it. You know, it's not like, again, my head of pr, pr, she's brilliant and, and I respect her very much. But it's not like the other night when we. I found out what Bryce Mitchell had said. It's not like we got a bunch of lawyers on the phone and we didn't. You know, I did. I got on Google and I started looking up World War II and, you know, remind Bryce Mitchell on what a piece of Hitler was. Okay, let's. And. And why he's not a good guy and why you wouldn't want to go fishing with him. And. And that was it. You know, I saw people saying, oh, he read a cant. I don't ever read can statements. Nobody writes anything for me, and lawyers are never involved. When I go out and speak, whatever. I'm writing down stats from World War II. You know, I wrote them down so I. I wouldn't forget. But nobody writes anything for me. Everything is exactly how I feel about it, whether you like it or not. I don't care. I don't care if you like it. I don't care if you don't like it. This is my company, and I'll run it the way I want to.

[Tucker Carlson]

Right. So when you say, you know your role at Facebook and you say Zuckerberg said to you, I need spine on my board, do you feel like your role is to oppose censorship at Facebook?

[Dana White]

I. No, I don't think that my role is to oppose censorship. I think that there's going to be decisions that need to be made on the fly. It's already happened. I mean, I've already been involved in, in, in a few things already in just a short time that I've been there and I give my opinion on what I think should be done and how it should be handled. Everybody that I've met on the, on the board already, they're all actually really good people and smart people and, and we've all had really good interaction so far. So I'm actually really, I'm really liking it. It's going to be my first board meeting. It's a two day thing. I don't know how long we're going to sit in there in the, in these board meetings, but that'll be different. New for me, a new experience for me. But my interaction with all the other board members has been really, really good so far. So I'm looking forward to it. And I think that when I can add value, I will speak up. And at the end of the day, Mark Zuckerberg runs Meta.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

And he'll make the final decisions. I think it's brilliant in the way that he brings people in that he likes and respects and wants to hear from. And everybody gives their opinion. And at the end of the day, Mark Zuckerberg makes the decisions.

[Tucker Carlson]

So the whole point of market capitalism is consumer choice. You have a choice between products and services, and the competition between companies makes the goods and services better. That's the core idea. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of monopolies out there. Monopolies are not good for consumers. They are not good for you. And one of the places where there's effectiveness, effectively a monopoly is in wireless contracts. But it's not a complete monopoly. You're probably paying way too much to use your cell phone. But now you have a choice. You don't have to pay a hundred bucks a month just to get a free phone. That's not a good deal. There's a company called PureTalk, which we use, that has no inflated prices. With a qualifying plan of just $45 a month, you can choose a free phone, an iPhone 14 or a Samsung Gallery. Then you get unlimited talk tax, 25 gigs of data, which is enough for most people, a mobile hotspot, all for that low price. And it's got the most dependable 5G network. So you get your free iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy by visiting PureTalk.comtucker and you switch to PureTalk today, America's wireless company, Pure Talk. Do you think that we're at Peak openness right now for the Internet, it feels like.

[Dana White]

Yep.

[Tucker Carlson]

People have more freedom to say what they really think than I've ever seen. Can that last?

[Dana White]

Well, I think that's a good question. You know, one of the things that I've learned in my short time at Meta is the far right think they're being suppressed. The far left think that it's too dangerous and not being policed enough. And the only place where there is true free speech is in America. And the rest of the world extorts them every day. That's what I've learned in my short.

[Tucker Carlson]

Extorts them?

[Dana White]

What do you mean, extorts them? So if you are in some country that have whatever country that has, you know, Facebook or Instagram or whatever it is, and something gets posted and stays up that they don't like, they'll find them, you know, all kinds of crazy.

[Tucker Carlson]

Threaten to shut them down. Yeah, that's constant.

[Dana White]

Constant, daily.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah, well, it has political effect. I mean, yeah, there's no doubt those companies, very powerful. They can bring down governments. Very powerful and probably have. Unwittingly or not, they are.

[Dana White]

So when you think about Facebook, Instagram, X, et cetera, et cetera, I mean, this is the new media. This is. These are the, the Fox, the ABCs, the NBC's, you know, of the future. This, this is like owning a major network or the New York Times or.

[Tucker Carlson]

You know, more, more, more powerful.

[Dana White]

I agree.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like television plus newspapers. Because globally, the emotional resonance and the full penetration, like everywhere in the world, people are looking at this stuff. So.

[Dana White]

And it's immediate. As soon as something comes out, the whole world knows instantly.

[Tucker Carlson]

Right. So it's not surprising that country X, every other country, basically, other than the United States is going to be pushing Meta and Google and Elon at X to, you know, tailor this or that according to their demands. But the United States is based on the idea that citizens get to say what they think, period. It's the first point in the Bill of Rights. So what matters is they stay firm here. And do you think they will?

[Dana White]

That's a good question. I think they will for the next four years. I think they will for the next four years. I think you see them all except for Elon. I mean, let's be honest. Elon was a superhero through this whole.

[Tucker Carlson]

That's for sure.

[Dana White]

Yeah. You know what I mean? Where are we right now without Elon Musk? It's. What he did was incredible. And why do you think he did it? Because I Think he's smart. And I think he's, I think that something about him is fearless. The fact that he would go in and spend the kind of money that he did to, to buy that thing basically just to find out what went on. I mean, he is literally a superhero in this country right now, as far as I'm concerned. And I think what he did also made a lot of people in that field, I guess I'd say braver and say, you know what, this, we should follow his lead. And then obviously, having this administration, there's nothing worse than when the government comes after you. When, when we were, when the Obama administration was in, they came after us for being a monopoly. So we bought this company that was bankrupt, turning it around, creating jobs and all these other things, and we got the government. We had to spend like 8 or 9 million dollars at that time to defend ourselves against a monopoly suit from the government.

[Tucker Carlson]

Meanwhile, Google actually is a monopoly.

[Dana White]

Yeah, well, there's a lot of monopolies. Well, there are a lot of monopolies, exactly. You know, but, yeah, so, you know, whenever you have the government coming after you, it's, it's not fun.

[Tucker Carlson]

So what'd you tell your. I'm sorry, missed. Would you tell your sister? She complains from the far right.

[Dana White]

What was that?

[Tucker Carlson]

When you said your sister complained about you joining the board, I forgot to ask you how you responded to it. Would you say to her, yeah, well.

[Dana White]

I told her the same thing that I just told you about how I felt about Mark. And let me ask you a question. Would you rather not have Meta and Mark Zuckerberg and everybody on, on, on our side? I mean, and by, by our side.

[Tucker Carlson]

I'd rather have you influencing them. I think that's good.

[Dana White]

By our side, I mean, the side of common sense.

[Tucker Carlson]

I agree. I totally agree.

[Dana White]

The side of common sense, you, you want the, the Zuckerbergs of the world and the Googles and the apples and, you know, the Elon Musk. You want as many allies on the side of common sense as possible. You don't want to distance yourself from these guys. You want to embrace them and, and, and, and try to try to figure out how to bring everybody into the common sense world, Right? I mean, isn't that what we all want? Why fight and battle and say, I would never sit on the board of Meta or whatever, if he thinks that I can add any value, why would I not do it? And I'm very into social media and I think it's the future. And obviously AI is too And I get to get inside and, and, and see and learn the future of this thing and have, and have a hand and how it all plays out. Why would I not want to do that?

[Tucker Carlson]

I think that's fair. I think that's fair. So what, I mean, you say that for the next four years, social media in this country following the lead of Elon is likely to be open and free and less crazy, more common sense oriented, less woke, et cetera. What about the other professional sports leagues like NFL, NBA, do they swing back in to the center of America or they continue on this self destructive path?

[Dana White]

I don't know. That's a good question. That's a good question. That's one I can't answer. I, I, what I do is I run mine the way I think it should. And again I, I run it with what I call common sense.

[Tucker Carlson]

I, well, that's worked for you. So why wouldn't they try that?

[Dana White]

Well, I mean it's hard to say that the NFL is screwing up. I mean the NFL is as powerful as powerful could be. The NBA ratings are dropping. You know, they're having their issues, but yeah, it's hard to mess with the NFL. The NFL, you can not like the new kickoff thing. You can like some things they don't do, but the NFL absolutely kills it. It's, it's the most powerful sport.

[Tucker Carlson]

What do you think is going on with the NBA? Where are their ratings down?

[Dana White]

I just think the, I'm an NBA fan. I just went to the Laker Celtics game a couple of weeks ago and I'll be at another Celtics game and I just think that the NBA has gotten soft and everybody sees you.

[Tucker Carlson]

In what sense?

[Dana White]

We were just talking about this at dinner tonight. I mean if you, if you look at the NBA when we grew up.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

So I'm a, I'm a lifelong die hard Celtics fan.

[Tucker Carlson]

New England.

[Dana White]

But when, when people ask me about idols and heroes and all these kind of stuff, I've had people who've had influence on me like Bruce Lee and Mike Tyson and lots of other people growing up. But Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan to me is, I've never met Michael Jordan and I don't want to meet Michael Jordan. I don't ever want to meet him. I am, that's probably a good, biggest Michael Jordan fan ever of his mentality, the way that he, I like killers, man, and Michael Jordan was a killer. And the stuff that his teammates say about him that everybody says, I love, love it. And the NBA just isn't like that. You haven't seen that since Kobe. You know, it just. It just doesn't have that. When you go back and think of the. The NBA from the 80s and 90s and all the different stars that you could remember from back then and how it was just a tougher game that. You know what I mean? It was. It was a lot tougher. And so many fouls and flopping and all the stuff that happens today isn't what the NBA used to be and what made the NBA big.

[Tucker Carlson]

You think they got too rich?

[Dana White]

It happens. Happens. My business, too. You get too rich and things change, but I wouldn't say that. Yeah, yeah, maybe you're right. Yeah, money screws up a lot of things. Maybe money did, but, I mean, the game changed and society changed and they did become. Come richer. I don't know. That's. That's a tough one to.

[Tucker Carlson]

Will that happen to you? We have soft fighters. Do you think at some point.

[Dana White]

Listen, everybody gets. Everybody changes. When you. When you make a lot of money, you know, when, when no matter what walk.

[Tucker Carlson]

Fighters lose immediately?

[Dana White]

No, but no matter what walk of life you're in, once you get to a certain level of success, you have to be a certain type of person to stay hungry and get out and fight every day. When we sold in 2016, 99% of the people said that I was going to retire and walk away. I'm not wired like that. I love Michael Jordan. Let me tell you what, you think I'm going to. No, I'm. That's the way that I'm wired, too. I'm still out building, you know, new brands and doing shit that I don't need to be doing, but I do it because I love it. But, yeah, I could see, you know, you know, how many people, you know, in a sale like mine in 2016, it just. You never see that guy again. They just. They're done, you know.

[Tucker Carlson]

And what happens to them?

[Dana White]

I don't know. I think you just go hang out. I don't know what the hell you do. I don't know what people like that do.

[Tucker Carlson]

No, but. But that is actually kind of a big question since there are an awful lot of people in our country, you know, who, because there's so much money floating around, have just kind of checked out. They got too rich. Like, do you ever check up on them to see what happened to them?

[Dana White]

No, I never have. It'd be interesting, though. You should. You should. You should do a show on people who made it big and, and you know, where they sold Their company, Where are they now? What are they doing? What do you do every day?

[Tucker Carlson]

They're suffering.

[Dana White]

Yeah. Gotta be, right? Yeah. Well, you imagine.

[Tucker Carlson]

Well, I mean, once the fight is gone, life is gone.

[Dana White]

I will never retire, ever. I will keep dogging this out until the day I drop dead.

[Tucker Carlson]

Really?

[Dana White]

I love it. Yeah, 100%.

[Tucker Carlson]

You'll be like 80 years old at ringside.

[Dana White]

Hopefully. Hopefully. You look at. I hate him. He's an asshole. But Bob Arum?

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

Boxing promoter.

[Tucker Carlson]

Yeah.

[Dana White]

He's 94 years old, right. I hate him. This guy's the biggest douchebag of all time. But I'm. I'm at.

[Tucker Carlson]

You're not for him.

[Dana White]

Oh, he's a douchebag. So I am at the Aces, WNBA game, right? Bob Arum is 94 years old. 94. It's at 9:00 at night. He's sitting over there courtside. I'm like, holy shit, Bob Arum is here. This is crazy. This guy's 94 years old. No, I didn't. He wouldn't have seen it anyway, but he's sitting over there. It's 8:30, I shit you not. Two days later, I'm watching a fight. Bob Arum is in Saudi Arabia, ringside at a boxing event. Two days later, he's in London at a press conference. He's 94 years old. I hate him. But you gotta respect it, right? How do you not respect that?

[Tucker Carlson]

No, but you said. I. I would have. But then you said he was at a WNBA game.

[Dana White]

Yeah.

[Tucker Carlson]

And that kind of wrecked me. Were you. Were you watching that on tv? Because you weren't.

[Dana White]

No, I. I got. I got courtside seats at the Las Vegas Aces. Absolutely. Kelsey Plum is one of my good friends, and I go there and I support her as much as possible. Not at all. No way. Love it. Love it. I'm an NBA fan. I'm an NBA fan. I know.

[Tucker Carlson]

It's wnba.

[Dana White]

Yeah. I'm in. I'm in. I'm in.

[Tucker Carlson]

Dana White. Thank you.

[Dana White]

Pleasure. Thanks for having me.

[Tucker Carlson]

See you, man.

[Dana White]

You too.