Dana White, the head of the UFC, recently expressed strong criticism regarding the production quality of the FIFA World Cup final. His remarks, shared via an Instagram story, highlighted what he perceived as significant errors during the broadcast of the match between Spain and Argentina.
White’s comments came after he had previously criticized his own production team for mistakes during UFC broadcasts. He had publicly stated that his team had reached a new low when a graphic mistakenly identified boxer Shakur Stevenson as Oklahoma Thunder guard Jalen Williams. Prior to that, former undefeated boxing champion Terence Crawford was once misidentified as rapper Kendrick Lamar.
However, the errors observed during the World Cup final led White to believe that the soccer tournament’s production team had surpassed the UFC‘s in terms of blunders. He sarcastically questioned the World Cup producers, asking, “What do you guys do?” He suggested that they had deliberately tried to outdo the UFC‘s previous mistakes, stating, “You triple down today and just go, ‘F**k you Dana White, you’re not beating us! We’re the worst production team in the history of sports to ever show celebrities.'”
Production Errors Highlighted
Among the issues White pointed out were celebrity misidentifications and a botched flyover. During the World Cup final, which saw Spain defeat Argentina 1-0, various celebrities were shown on screen. While there were no graphics for these celebrity appearances on the main broadcast White was watching, other broadcasts reportedly had issues. For instance, the BBC broadcast reportedly mislabeled Pharrell Williams as A$AP Rocky, initially calling him “AKA Rocky.”
Another notable gaffe mentioned in reports involved Fox Sports announcer John Strong, who reportedly identified actor Matt Damon as Brad Pitt during the match. White did not specifically name Fox Sports, the English-language broadcaster for the World Cup in the U.S., in his criticism.
White also specifically mentioned a problem with the flyover during the event. This issue reportedly involved a timing discrepancy between Jennifer Hudson‘s performance of the national anthem and a military flyover that appeared to be delayed. According to one report, cameras were focused on the sky for approximately 30 seconds, seemingly awaiting the arrival of aircraft. When the jets eventually appeared, they reportedly flew off to the side of the stadium and were largely unnoticed by the crowd, as captured in an Instagram video by influencer Gabby Gonzalez.
White’s Concession and Future Outlook
Despite his previous belief that the UFC‘s production team was the worst, White conceded that the World Cup producers had taken that title. He stated, “You guys win. You guys f**ked up that flyover too! I’m not going to nitpick. I’m just giving you credit where credit is due. You guys absolutely f**king suck. We are the second worst.” He reiterated this sentiment, saying, “I bow down. Congratulations to the producers of the World Cup. You guys win, you guys f**ked up that flyover, too.”
White’s comments indicate a strong reaction to the perceived lack of quality in the World Cup final’s broadcast. He had initially set up the World Cup production team to “hit a grand slam home run,” but felt they ultimately failed. The final match itself concluded with Spain defeating Argentina by a score of 1-0.
White and his team are set to have an opportunity to demonstrate their own production capabilities at the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi MMA event, scheduled for this weekend in the UAE.
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Source: huffpost.com
