GQ: Doyoueverworryaboutwhatyour
athletesmightdoonsocialmedia?
DW:Itwasabigconcernearlyon,butunless
you’re an absolute lunatic, there’s so much
crazyshitoutthereonsocialmedianowthat
it’sallsortofdieddown.Themorewedeal
with social media, the more we’re becoming
desensitised to this type of stuff.
GQ:Shittalking.
DW:Ourpresident[Trump]isonthere
talking; he talks directly on Twitter and
not to the media.
GQ:Whohastalkedmoreshitinthepast
two years: McGregor or Donald Trump?
DW:They’reneckandneck.
GQ: We’re coming up on the one-year
anniversary of Mayweather-McGregor.
WhatwastheimpactofthatontheUFC?
DW:Itwasahuge.Thatwasaglobalight.
If you get the right ight with the right guys
at the right time, then the world can watch
it.Theworldischangingsofast.Thisyounger
generation, they’re all digital. These kids don’t
watchTVbutthey’reconsumingatonneof
shit on their phones. So in this digital age,
theworldisgettingsmallerandsmaller.
GQ: With a fight like Mayweather-McGregor
there’ssomuchspectacle.Howdoyou
balance the idea of showbiz and sport?
DW:Thebeautifulthingaboutighting
is that all the shit that goes on before the
ight–thethingsthataresaid,thepushand
shove,whateveritmightbe–doesn’tmean
shit once you get inside the octagon or ring.
Attheendoftheday,theseguysactuallyget
inandight.Everythingwillbesettledinthe
octagon. It’s fucking awesome. It’s incredible.
GQ:ArewegoingtoseeFloydMayweather
entertheoctagoninthenextyear?
DW:Ithinkso.IthinkFloyd will ight here.
It’sjustamatterofwhen.
GQ: Why do you think the UFC is successful
and popular in Australia? It’s one of the top
fivemarketsforyou.
DW:Ialwaysdothistestwithpeoplefrom
Australia. You ask them: do you know anybody
that’severbeenattackedbyashark?Doyou
knowanybodythat’severbeenstungby
jellyish?Youknowanybodythat’sbeenbitten
byasnake?Youknowanybodythat’sbeenbit
byaspider?Youknowanybodythat’sbeen
attackedbyacrocodile?It’sneverbelowthree,
never. It’s always at least three out of ive. Some
guysareiveoutofive.Australiaisaroughand
toughplace.Everythingonearththatcankill
youlivesinAustralia,andsoforsomereason
theseguysjusttooktotheUFC.Theyloveit,
and every time we do an event in Australia, the
ightsareunbelievable.There’satonneoftalent
comingoutofAustralia,too,andnow we have
a world champion from Australia.
GQ: What’s different about the fighters
down there?
DW:I don’t know if it’s as much the ighters
themselves as it is the Australian people.
The ighters are Australian and Australians
are a different breed of people. I love it.
GQ:WhathappenedwithAustralianworld
champ Robert Whittaker’s staph infection
thatruledhimoutofhismiddleweight title
defence earlier this year?
DW:Ithappensinthissport.Youget
staphinfectionsandyoudon’trealiseit.
Yougountilit’salmosttoolate,andthat’s
a nasty disease that attacks fast and hard.
He got hit by it and thank God they caught
it when they did because apparently it was
internal too, attacking his internal organs,
which is scary.GQ:He’snotashittalker.Heoncesaid
thathedoesn’thaveillwilltowardhis
opponents in the octagon. Is that a good
thing for the sport?
DW:Whetheryou’reashittalkeroryoudon’t
say anything, if you’re a mute, it doesn’t
matter.Whatmattersishowyouperformin
theoctagon.He’sobviouslyaveryhumble
guy,butfromtheirsttimeIeversawhim
Itoldhim,‘Ithinkyou’respecial,Ithink
you can be somebody’. He’s got that raw
knockout power and people love that.
GQ:BeitaHemsworthoraBieber,we
alwaysseebigstarsringside.Whyisthat?
DW:Theyaskfortickets.Idon’tgooutand
trytorecruitcelebritiestowatchUFC.We
dowhatwedoandpeoplefallinlovewith
this sport. People get addicted to this, man.GQ: With the #MeToo movement
masculinityisunderanewlevelof
scrutiny.Whatkindofculture do you
strive to create at UFC?
DW:The incredible thing about this sport and
the UFC is that ever since I opened the door
for women to come in, the pay scale here has
always been even. The women all make what
themenmake,sincedayone,sinceRonda
Rouseywalkedinthedoorthatirstday.
GQ:Whatcanothersportslearnfromthat?
DW:We promote the women the same
as we promote the men. The pay is equal,
everything is equal.
GW: How do you respond to those who say
you’re promoting violence?
DW:People who think that we’re promoting
violence know nothing about mixed martial
arts.In25yearsoftheUFCtherehasnever
beenadeathorseriousinjury.Ican’tstandthe
peoplewhotrytosay,‘Thisisviolenceand
peopleshouldn’tbedoingit’.Whoareyouto
say people shouldn’t be doing this? You do
whatyouwanttodoandwe’lldowhatwewant
todo.We’renothurtinganybody;it’salegal
sport.Thegovernmentregulatesus.Wehave
thebestdrug-testingpolicyinallofsports,
and the list goes on and on. Listen, I don’t like
golf.Doesthatmeanthatpeopleshouldn’t
play golf or it should be taken off TV? No.
Whengolfcomeson,Ichangethechannel.
GQ: I want to go back to the early days of UFC.
Youhadalotofhurdlesstartingoutand
DonaldTrumpwasoneofthefirstpeopleto
offeryouaplaceforfights.Canyoutellus
aboutthosefirstdealingswithhim?
DW:Nobody’s been told ‘no’ more than me.
Let me start there. When we irst bought the
UFC,thestigmawassobadonthissport
that venues didn’t want us. But Donald
Trumpreachedout.Hesaid,‘Iwouldlove
youguystodoaightattheTrumpTaj
Mahal’.Weputtheighton.Hewasoneof
theirstpeoplethereatthearenathatnight,
watching from the prelims on, and stayed
through the entire event. Then we left
Tr u mp Taj M a ha l a nd went to t he
MeadowlandsArenaandheshowed
up at the prelims there too.
GQ:Hewasaloyalsupporter.
DW:Everythingthathaseverhappenedto
me in my professional life, Donald Trump
hasreachedoutandsaid,‘Hey,Ialwaysknew
youweregonnadoit,congratulations’.
GQ:YouspokeattheGOPConvention
in 2016. Have his politics after that
complicated your support?
DW:Notatall.PeopleknowthatIsupported
Trump.Listen,I’mgoodfriendswithSnoop
Dogg who hates Trump and all these other
guys. I’m a huge fan of the Beastie Boys.“We promote
the women
the same
as the men.
The pay
is equal,
everything
is equal.”