The fights at the UFC Vegas 46 event had ended, but there were more clashes in the post-fight press conference on Saturday night. Dana White verbally sparred with a reporter who questioned the COVID-19 treatments that the UFC president took after contracting the respiratory disease.
During the post-fight press conference, White was questioned about his friend and UFC employee Joe Rogan. A reporter asked White about the group of 270 scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators who signed an open letter demanding that Spotify adopt a policy on COVID-19 misinformation because they insisted that Rogan has a “concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”
White was not familiar with the open letter attempting to have Spotify censor Rogan over podcasts about COVID-19. White transitioned to COVID-19 treatments by saying, “Ever since I came out and said what I did, it’s almost impossible now to get monoclonal antibodies.”
The fully vaccinated White contracted COVID-19 during the Thanksgiving holiday, but was “feeling like a million bucks” in less than 24 hours after receiving COVID-19 treatments recommended by Rogan.
“I get up, 9 o’clock Monday morning, and I get tested. He said get monoclonal antibodies in you as soon as possible, so I did,” White told sports podcast host Jim Rome on Dec. 1. “By noon, I had the monoclonal antibodies in me. Then he told me to do a NAD drip. I did that right after.”
White added that he had a dose of ivermectin and a vitamin drip.
During Saturday’s press conference, White alleged, “They’re making it so you can’t get them. Medicine that absolutely works — they’re keeping from us.”
The UFC president claimed, “I don’t want to get too political and start getting into all this sh**, but ivermectin and monoclonal antibodies have been around for a long time. Now all of a sudden you can’t dig them up to save your life; the doctors won’t give them to you.”
White said that he “made one phone call” and was able to get monoclonal antibody treatment.
“And that’s not some f***ing rich famous guy sh**,” White added. “Like anybody could’ve called…Everybody could’ve got it back then.”
He then claimed, “You can’t get those things to save your life now, literally.”
In late December, the federal government halted the distribution of two of the three monoclonal antibody treatments, claiming they were ineffective against the Omicron variant. According to the FDA, only the monoclonal antibody treatment called “sotrovimab” by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology is effective against Omicron. However, it is in short supply.
White called the lack of COVID-19 therapeutics “disgusting” and “one of the craziest things that I’ve ever witnessed in my life.”
“And we’re not talking about experimental drugs or things,” White continued. “This stuff’s been around. Ivermectin, the guy won a Nobel Peace Prize.”
Then Yahoo reporter Kevin Iole interjected, “Are you a doctor?”
White replied, “No, but I took them, and they both worked for me, so why shouldn’t I be able to take them again? Or other people?”
White roared back, “You want to know what’s scary? I bet I can get some f***ing pain pills quicker than I can get monoclonal antibodies. Not maybe; that’s a fact. They f***ing hand out pain pills like they’re Tic Tacs. Pain pills kill you. Fact. And I’m not a doctor, but that’s a fact.”
Content Warning: Strong language: