In a late-January conversation on Big Boy TV, UFC chief Dana White once again declined to warm to soccer, calling it the least talented sport and holding to a view he says he has carried for about a decade. He insists the criticism is aimed at the game rather than its players, many of whom he counts as friends, and he sets it against hockey, a sport he admires more for the obvious difficulty of its play. The remark lands in a moment when the United States, Canada and Mexico are readying to host the World Cup, and it reminds us how persistently a familiar argument about what counts as skill kee
UFC's Dana White Doubles Down: He Still Isn't a Soccer Fan, Calls It the 'Least Talented Sport'
He says it in every country, and he isn't taking it back.
Mark
Why is a decade-old complaint about soccer news again?
Mimi
Because the old clip resurfaced and went viral, and then White was asked on Big Boy TV whether he still felt that way. He said yes.
Mark
What exactly is his argument?
Mimi
Scoring. He says the nets are huge and the games still end 1-1 or 3-1, which to him signals a lack of talent. He also said three-year-olds play it.
Luke
Worth noting that's his opinion, not a measurement. Nothing in the reporting tests whether soccer is easy or hard.
Mark
He praised Ronaldo, though. Isn't that contradictory?
Mimi
He drew a line between people and sport. He says he loves Ronaldo and has a great relationship with him, but isn't a soccer fan. Ramos and Ibrahimovic have also attended UFC events.
Luke
And his hockey comparison is a bit shaky too. He admits he isn't a big hockey fan, so he's praising a sport he doesn't follow closely.
Mark
Why does the World Cup matter here?
Mimi
The U.S., Canada and Mexico host in 2026, and MLS has grown since Messi arrived. So his stance lands in a moment of heightened soccer attention.
Luke
What we don't know is how big the viral reaction really was. The report says fans debated it, but gives no figures.
Il Polso
- Dana White refuses to soften his verdict, calling soccer the least talented sport on national television.
- An old clip of his criticism resurfaced online, igniting fan arguments that have spread across social media.
- White frames his dislike as respect for the players, pointing to friendships with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo.
- With the 2026 World Cup approaching on home soil, the friction between his stance and soccer's growing American audience is set to intensify.
In a late-January conversation on Big Boy TV, UFC chief Dana White once again declined to warm to soccer, calling it the least talented sport and holding to a view he says he has carried for about a decade. He insists the criticism is aimed at the game rather than its players, many of whom he counts as friends, and he sets it against hockey, a sport he admires more for the obvious difficulty of its play. The remark lands in a moment when the United States, Canada and Mexico are readying to host the World Cup, and it reminds us how persistently a familiar argument about what counts as skill keeps returning to public life.
Dana White was asked on Big Boy TV whether he still dislikes soccer, and he did not hedge. His view has not changed, he said, and he does not expect to become a fan. He called soccer the least talented sport, joking that even three-year-olds play it, and complained that the nets are enormous yet games still end 1-1.
White was quick to separate the sport from its people. He said he has strong relationships with several players who have appeared at his events, singling out Cristiano Ronaldo, and insisted he means no disrespect. Sergio Ramos and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have also come to UFC events.
By contrast, he said he respects hockey more, even though he is not a big fan of it. He described players skating at high speed, hunched over crooked sticks, facing a goal no bigger than the player guarding it, and open to a hit at any moment. In his view, difficulty is plain to see there.
The position is not new. About a decade ago, White questioned soccer talent in front of reporters, and when Michael Landsberg warned him not to say such things in Brazil, he replied that he says it everywhere. That clip recently went viral, and the new interview gave him a chance to retract it. He did not.
The timing gives the debate extra weight. Soccer's profile in the United States has grown with Major League Soccer and the arrival of Lionel Messi, and the U.S., Canada and Mexico are about to host the 2026 World Cup. White is not expected to be watching. Whether the argument keeps growing as the tournament nears is the question to follow.
Dana White was asked on Big Boy TV whether he still dislikes soccer. He did not hedge. The UFC CEO said his view has not moved, and that he does not see himself becoming a fan.
He called soccer the least talented sport. He said he could not remember how the topic first came up, but that he had once argued there is a reason three-year-olds play it. His other complaint was the scoreboard: the nets are enormous, he said, and the games still finish 1-1.
White was careful to separate the sport from the people in it. He said he has strong relationships with some of the players who have come to his events, and he singled out Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he loves him and has a great relationship with him. He added that he means no disrespect to any of them. He is simply not a soccer fan. Ronaldo is not the only star to have appeared at UFC events: Sergio Ramos and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have also attended.
He contrasted soccer with hockey. White said he is not a big hockey fan either, but he respects it more. In his telling, the players skate 100 miles an hour on ice, bent over with a crooked stick, the goal is only as big as the player standing in front of it, and anyone can hit you at any moment. That, he suggested, is a sport where difficulty is obvious.
The remarks are not new. White's criticism goes back about a decade, to a session with reporters. In that exchange he questioned the talent of soccer players, pointing to low-scoring games despite the size of the nets. Michael Landsberg told him he would not say that in Brazil. White's reply was that he says it in every country. He asked how untalented a player must be to score only three goals when the net is that big, and he finished by saying that a 3-1 score makes sense in hockey.
That older clip recently resurfaced on social media, went viral and set off debate among fans. The new interview gave White the chance to take it back, and he declined.
The timing is hard to miss. Soccer has drawn more attention in the United States as Major League Soccer has grown in popularity since Lionel Messi arrived. The U.S., Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As the source frames it, White is not likely to be watching, even with the tournament on home soil. Whether the debate keeps growing as the World Cup approaches is the thing to watch.
Citazioni salienti
Soccer is the least talented sport, though he loves Cristiano Ronaldo and means no disrespect to the players.— Dana White, on Big Boy TV
He says he voices the same opinion in every country, answering Michael Landsberg's Brazil challenge.— Dana White, in an earlier media scrum
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