Dana White blasts UFC production team after Shakur Stevenson mistaken for NBA player at UFC 329

Dana White tore into the UFC’s production team at the UFC 329 post-fight press conference after boxing star Shakur Stevenson, in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, was misidentified on the broadcast as NBA player Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Stevenson, a four-division boxing champion and the UFC’s parent company Zuffa Boxing’s latest high-profile signing, was shown on screen with a lower-third graphic bearing Williams’s name and NBA affiliation — a blunder that clearly infuriated White.

“I just paid Shakur Stevenson a shtload of money, and for some reason, we can’t figure this celebrity sht out,” White said. “They put him up as a fcking OKC NBA player. Are you fcking kidding me? But we are the absolute worst to ever do the celebrity thing. When we put celebrities up, we are the worst.”

White’s frustration was sharpened by the context. He noted that the same production team had recently constructed a full arena on the South Lawn of the White House for a UFC event — a logistical feat he described as “the greatest thing in the world” — making the on-screen gaffe all the more galling for the UFC CEO.

Both athletes responded to the mix-up with good humour. Stevenson posted on X with a simple “Yea Dana,” accompanied by laughing and fire emojis. Williams, for his part, took the mistaken identity in stride, writing “Ehh close enough” on his Instagram Stories before reportedly accepting an offer of lifetime free ringside tickets to UFC events as a token of apology from the promotion.