Dana White Reacts to UFC 310 Main Event, Calls Merab Dvalishvili “My Mini-Strickland” [Video]

Las Vegas — UFC President and CEO Dana White was as surprised as everyone else when Alexandre Pantoja called out Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson following the flyweight champ’s win at UFC 310.

Pantoja had just choked out RIZIN champ Kai Asakura to close out the show in Las Vegas when he opted to shoot his shot at the man considered the flyweight GOAT— a fighter who had recently retired, after competing for a rival promotion in ONE Championship.

“I don’t know. That’s interesting,” White said when asked about Pantoja’s desire to fight the former UFC star. “Listen, I was the one beating the drum about Demetrious Johnson a long time ago.”

Perhaps the arrival of Asakura, though unsuccessful in his UFC debut, has signaled a shift in the UFC’s approach to rival promotions. For years, fighters in the UFC heard their accomplishments summed up as “champion in another organization,” with UFC broadcasts …