Dana White: Giving fighters ‘healthcare forever’ would be ‘pretty f—ng crazy’

UFC president Dana White drew some attention last week when he backtracked on his statements about long-term fighter health benefits. From initially saying it would happen “soon” during an Instagram Q&A, he corrected himself stating he “responded to the wrong guy.”

White was once again asked about it during the UFC 263 post-fight presser on Saturday. This time, he gave a more definite answer.

We’re working on stuff like that all the time. We’re working on this brain stuff. We’ve been spending millions and millions of dollars on brain studies for years. And now, all the psychedelic stuff is happening. So, we’re trying to figure out… a lot of guys are interested in that from — we think a lot of guys are interested. So, we’re looking into that. We’re always looking into making things better, safer, and whatever for the fighters. I don’t know about healthcare forever. Does anybody have a job where they have healthcare forever when they leave? I mean, that’s pretty f—ng crazy. I don’t think anybody does it.

The classic example of a fighter who could use a “healthcare forever” benefit from the company would be Tim Sylvia, who suffered an infection last year from a broken arm he sustained in 2004. Another one would be Spencer Fisher, who recently revealed having CTE symptoms.

Many fighters suffer long-term damage from their careers and only see the bigger effects after retiring. White, however, says it’s all “part of the gig.”