UFC CEO Dana White has never put a filter on his mouth while naming names.
When Katie Miller asked him which celebrity he’d had the worst interaction with, he had his answer ready before the question was fully out of her mouth. He didn’t flinch twice while calling Sean “Diddy” Combs the biggest douchebag ever.
White and Combs had crossed paths years ago at one of Tony Hawk’s celebrity charity events, held at Ron Burkle’s house; it was overall a family-friendly fundraiser where sports and entertainment figures would mix freely, take photos with each other’s kids, and generally keep things loose.
The UFC boss brought his young niece along because she was a huge Diddy fan. But whatever happened that day, he never forgot it.
Dana White Recounts the Tony Hawk Charity Event That Made Him a Permanent Diddy Critic
During a recent episode of “The Katie Miller” Podcast, White, who is having a busy time ahead of UFC 328, recalled that his young niece, a fan of Diddy, approached him for a photo. But she returned shaken because Diddy’s 10 security guards were intimidating and rude to her.
After Miller asked, White got a bit animated and answered, “Ooh, that’s a good question. What a great question. Let me really think about this so I can really stick it to whoever it was… Oh, Diddy. 100%. The biggest douchebag ever.”
The 56-year-old, detailing the shocking moment during Tony Hawk’s celebrity charity event, White admitted he was the one who encouraged his young niece to ask for a photo. He still couldn’t digest the outcome.
When she returned without a picture and visibly shaken, White asked what had happened. She told him, “No, they were scary.” Diddy had arrived flanked by 10 security guards who were rude to the young girl and intimidated her.
White recalled, “She comes back, and I’m like, ‘Did you get a picture?’ She’s like, ‘No, they were scary.’ You know, the guy’s there with 10 security guards, right? You need security at a [expletive] kids event?”
That was the moment White wrote Diddy off, permanently from her good book. He argued that it’s people like his niece who actually support Diddy’s career and seeing her treated that way was enough for him to write the rapper off for good.
He also added that Conor McGregor felt the same way after his own run-in with Combs, apparently even wanting to “punch him in the face.”
The story is years old, but it lands in a completely different context now. In 2025, Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and sentenced to 50 months in federal prison and fined $500,000. He is currently appealing both his conviction and sentence.
In the UFC, being approachable is part of the job. White has no patience for a 10-man security detail at a kids’ charity event. For him, that behavior was enough to write Diddy off from his book. And his perception has never changed.
