‘Read the Room, Bald F*ck’: Fight Fans Blast Dana White Over ‘Great Day’ IG Story Amid Allan Nascimento’s Death
Dana White received backlash over a poorly-timed Instagram story:
While UFC fighters of the likes of Josh Hokit and Sean Strickland are no strangers to stirring the pot, this time, it was the bossman himself who riled up the MMA community. Dana White’s latest Instagram story, showing the UFC president enjoying a cigar with a simple “GREAT DAY!!” caption, drew plenty of heat after the promotion had just announced the death of Allan Nascimento.
The timing couldn’t be more off, especially with the 34-year-old former UFC flyweight’s friends, teammates, and fellow fighters still coming to terms with his sudden passing. Renato Moicano was among those who didn't hold back, and fans quickly piled on
Renato Moicano Calls Out Dana White’s Timing
On Monday, August 3, the UFC confirmed Nascimento’s untimely passing in an official statement, leaving fans in mourning.The 34-year-old Brazilian flyweight was found unresponsive after suffering an apparent heart attack in his sleep.
White subsequently shared the UFC’s tribute to Nascimento on his Instagram story. Then came the post that changed the entire narrative. The UFC head honcho shared a photo of himself smoking a cigar with the words, “GREAT DAY!!”
Although there was no indication in the post that the 59-year-old was referring to Nascimento or celebrating the fighter’s death, given what had happened only hours earlier, the timing was enough to leave a sour taste for many fans.
Fellow Brazilian Renato Moicano didn't let it pass without saying something. He reacted to White’s posts in Portuguese, essentially accusing the UFC president of mishandling the situation and pointing to the sequence of the memorial post followed by the cigar photo.
He wrote, “Damn, man… Dana messed up on this one, posted the kid's photo and then the cigs and we're just enjoying we're just enjoying !!?? We really are just passing through this cruel big world! Only Jesus saves.”
Meanwhile, White has not publicly explained what he meant by “great day,” and there is no evidence that the post was intended as a reaction to Nascimento's death. It could have been completely unrelated.
Still, when a fighter has just died, and the promotion's president follows a memorial post with a picture of himself celebrating his day, people are naturally going to notice the timing.
Fight Fans Fume Over White’s Insensitive Post
The backlash was imminent. Fans quickly flooded social media with criticism, with several pointing out that “Puro Osso” was still an active UFC fighter when he died. One fan summed up the frustration bluntly: “He has to be aware one of the fighters on his roster passed away today. Read the room bald f**k.”
A second pointed to the fact that Nascimento wasn't the only active UFC fighter dealing with a major situation, writing: “One of his fighters almost died and another one of his fighters literally did die today btw. Not former fighters either. Active fighters in his promotion.”
On the other hand, others took the criticism further, accusing White of being disconnected from the people on his roster - “Becomes more apparent each day that Dana is a narcissist,” a user wrote.
Another said the post was particularly poorly timed because of the circumstances surrounding other fighters, adding that White was “so horrific at reading the room," and then there were the comments aimed squarely at the picture itself. “He probably thinks he looks like a mob boss or something when he post these corny a** pics,” another fan wrote.
For the MMA community, this week was supposed to be about remembering the fallen flyweight. Instead, White's cigar photo became another lightning rod for reactions.
