Darren Till Says MMA Reporters Fear Dana White After UFC Scrums
darren till says MMA reporters are too afraid to ask Dana White the uncomfortable questions after UFC post-fight media scrums. He argued they are there to ask what fans want to hear, not to settle for half-answered exchanges.
Darren Till and Dana White
In a recent social media post, the former UFC fighter wrote, "MMA reporters once again failing to ask the questions us fans want, Everytime I watch one of these media scrums after a UFC card it seems they are all so terrified of upsetting Dana & getting banned from having media passes." He added, "Or sometimes once again he gives half assed answers and they just accept it."
Till said, "The media are there to ask the uncomfortable questions and ask the questions we want to hear." He also singled out Ariel Helwani, writing, "Ariel Helwani although many are not fans of, over the years has even asked me uncomfortable questions."
Ariel Helwani and tough questions
He then drew a line between criticism and personal respect. "Never have I gone away and thought anything of him as the person," Till wrote, before saying, "As I’ve said repeatedly I have utmost respect for Dana and for what he does."
That respect came with a sharp rebuke. Till wrote, "Dana talks a lot about masculinity and tough men etc… but someone’s asks him a question he doesn’t like and you can see he gets all in his feelings, that’s not so tough from where I am standing to be honest." He also wrote, "But getting annoyed or saying who gives a s*** when someone asks him a slightly uncomfortable question is f***ing gay as f***. Ha!! !! !!"
Post-fight scrums
White has not had the best relationship with the media for a long time, and he often picks interviews that are likely to be favorable to him or chosen by his team. He also does not really enjoy being asked challenging questions at post-fight press conferences.
That is the friction Till pointed at: the media scrum is supposed to be the place where White gets pressed on the hard stuff, but Till said too many reporters let him off with easy answers. For readers who follow UFC coverage, his complaint is simple — if the question is uncomfortable, that is usually the question worth asking.
