A frustrated UFC boss Dana White sent journalists a stern warning after being asked another question about a heated hotel exchange between Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland.
The argument took place earlier in the week in the lead-up to UFC 287, with the pair reportedly forced to be separated by security as tempers flared outside of the octagon.
Masvidal and Holland were not actually fighting each other, with the former going down to Gilbert Burns in the co-main event before announcing his retirement on Sunday.
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Holland, meanwhile, made a statement with a third-round knockout win over Santiago Ponzinibbio in his fight on the card.
But journalists were keen to get to the bottom of the incident between Holland and Masvidal at Friday’s pre-fight press conference, something White was having none of.
“Absolutely nothing,” Masvidal said at the time to a question about the altercation.
“There’s nothing to talk about there. He’s just a d**k-riding, clout-chasing b***h. Ain’t nothing to talk about.”
“No, that’s not what you were saying yesterday, bro. Watch your f***ing mouth,” Holland fired back.
White was quick to then intervene, not wanting tensions to boil over at a press conference that was supposed to be about the actual fights on Sunday’s stacked card.
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“Come on, these two aren’t even fighting,” White said.
“Knock it off. Do you have a question about these guys and who they’re fighting, or do you just want to start s*** in here? What’s your question?”
White later shut down another attempted question on the matter and when a journalist brought it up after Sunday’s card, the UFC boss was far from impressed.
“The reason I didn’t want you guys talking to him about other fights is, ‘Guys, we’re f***ing two days before a fight. He’s not fighting Jorge Masvidal’,” White said.
“Whatever they got into, first of all it creates s*** backstage and at the hotels when you guys are asking questions like that and they say something.
“We’ve still got two days until the fight and these guys run into each other backstage and everywhere else and it’s so disrespectful to their opponent. There’s an opponent sitting right there that they’re going to fight and I just hate that s***.”
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White then went on to send the media a warning, adding that journalists can “instigate” drama like that which saw the UFC 279 press conference abandoned late last year.
“I get it, you want your f***ing clicks or whatever it is you guys want to get, your f***ing moment you want to post but I will f***ing attack you if you do that, you know what I mean?” White said.
“It just causes a lot of bulls*** backstage and at the hotel. It’s like the time the stuff went down with Diaz and all those guys and Khamzat. These guys have f***ing 20 to 30 guys backstage and that s*** just can’t happen here and you guys can instigate it.”