Sean Strickland Wasn't Baited And One Question Dana White Could Have Been Asked

What's changed inside the UFC?

I haven't watched Dana White's entire UFC 297 post-fight press conference yet. I have to be in the right mindset to do that, and I'm just not there yet for whatever reason. However, I saw the clip where White, unprompted spoke about Sean Strickland's homophobic and anti-LGBTQ remarks at the pre-event press conference.

“If you get your feelings hurt that bad, you probably shouldn’t ask the question when you know the answer you’re going to get from Strickland,” said White after being asked specifically about the “dark” trash talk between Strickland and his UFC 297 opponent Dricus du Plessis and their scuffle in the stands at UFC 296.

“If you ask him (Strickland),” White continued, “You know who he is. You ask him a certain question. He was baited in that question.”

Strickland was not “baited.” He was asked about a comment he made in the past. Specifically, Strickland was asked about the below tweet.

Asking someone about remarks they made in the past is not baiting. It's called journalism. It allows the person to double down on the remark, offer more context, or retract the statement, and Strickland doubled down in a big way.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of journalism knows that asking these types of questions happens all the time. Don't believe it? Watch any political coverage when people get asked about policy positions. It wasn't a "gotcha" question, no matter what White or Strickland's fans think of the inquiry.

After saying Strickland was baited, White rolled out his "free speech" defense when asked a follow-up question after getting agitated about how that question was phrased. Specifically, White focused on this portion of the question, "You obviously give a long leash to your fighters about what they can say…"

Instead of focusing on the heart of the query, White grabbed onto "leash" and focused on that, masterfully avoiding the real question while trying to intimidate the media member into dropping the angle they were pursuing.

"It's ridiculous to say I give somebody a leash," White said, shutting down the question. "Free speech, brother. People can say whatever they want, and they can believe whatever…"

One follow-up question White might not have been able to skillfully swat to the side with incredulity and a smirk would have been to ask “What’s changed with the UFC over that past few years? The organization once had a code of conduct that it used to suspend and fine fighters (Matt Mitrione and Nate Diaz). It also apologized for Donald Cerrone’s use of a homophobic slur.”

That question of what’s changed with the promotion can still be asked of White or the UFC because something has changed. Because let’s not forget there was a time, not that long ago, where the UFC advertised and sold Pride Month merch and publicly donated to LGBTQIA+ causes.