UFC chief Dana White has ripped into Fox’s production of the World Cup final after posting an X-rated rant on social media, just hours after the event came to an end.
On Sunday afternoon, Spain triumphed 1-0 over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in extra time after a 106th-minute strike from forward Ferran Torres at MetLife Stadium.
The match itself was generally underwhelming, according to viewers, and the theatrics surrounding it – such as the closing ceremony and inaugural half-time show – also went down badly among fans watching at home.
Many disgruntled viewers rushed to social media to slate the production on the day and UFC supremo White followed suit, sharing his scathing assessment online.
Taking to his Instagram Story in the wake of Sunday’s final, he said: ‘You know what’s crazy, I actually teed up the guys who were doing the production for the World Cup for you guys to hit a grand slam home run.
‘Even though everybody in my team was saying you guys were the worst, I said ‘No, we are the worst. They didn’t f*** it up as bad as we did’. What do you guys do? You triple down today. And you just go ‘F*** you Dana White. You’re not beating us. We’re the worst production team in the history of sports to ever show celebrities.’
WARNING – THE BELOW VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLETIVE LANGUAGE
UFC chief Dana White ripped into Fox’s production of the World Cup final on Sunday
‘I bow down. Congratulations to the producers of the World Cup. You guys f***ed up that flyover too. I’m not going to nit-pick, I’m just giving you credit where credit is due. You guys absolutely f***ing suck. We are the second worst.’
Though White did not explicitly call out Fox in his rant, fans pieced together the dig and linked it back to the UFC’s split from the broadcaster back in 2018.
White’s comments came one week after he ripped into the UFC’s production at UFC 329 – following on-screen mix-up when showcasing the celebrities in attendance.
Last Saturday, during the live broadcast of the event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the camera panned to boxing star Shakur Stevenson cageside.
However, instead of correctly identifying the four-division world champion, the graphic labeled him as Jalen Williams, a forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Speaking at the press conference after the event, he said: ‘I just paid Shakur Stevenson a s***load of money, and for some reason, we can’t figure this celebrity s*** out. They put him up as an ‘OKC’ NBA player. Are you f***ing kidding me?
‘We are the absolute worst to ever do the celebrity thing,’ White added at the time.
‘I just had this debate with my guys while I was screaming at everybody back there, and they said, ‘No, soccer’s worse. Soccer shows the people, and they don’t put up any graphics.’
Other fans questioned the World Cup’s halftime show at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon
Spain clinched their second World Cup title after beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time
While fellow critics of Fox’s production were few and far between on Sunday, World Cup fans did brand FIFA’s controversial first-ever World Cup halftime show starring Madonna and Justin Bieber as a ‘disaster’.
The futuristic segment began with Madonna, 67, singing her 2000 hit Music, accompanied by giddy Brazilian World Cup legends Ronaldo Nazario and Ronaldinho.
The toned music legend was dressed head-to-toe in Saint Laurent, wowing in a pink satin teddy jacket and corset, mini shorts and lace-up boots, paired with stockings as she embraced the soccer icons, before they drove her out into the stadium.
The unlikely trio then posed up on the grass and smiled at the crowds.
Bieber, 32, made a starkly different impact on the crowd as he stepped out with nothing but a guitar to sing a World Cup themed version of his song, Everything Hallelujah.
The singer was bizarrely subbed onto the pitch by Jason Sudeikis, playing his manager alter-ego Ted Lasso.
