UFC President Dana White has never been shy about his penchant for gambling - The Palms casino in Las Vegas even once awarded him the title of Undisputed Blackjack Champion and a gaudy belt to go with it - but UFC commentator Joe Rogan says that gambling habit could be indicative of a larger problem for White.

On a recent edition of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, while discussing what drives successful men and women to gamble enormous sums of money, Rogan got to discussing his White’s history of gambling and how it may be tied to his history with boxing.

“Dana White is a notorious gambler but he wins millions of dollars sometimes. I think he said he’s lost as much as $1 million and he’s won as much as $7 million in a night.

“[He does it for] thrills. Also, people who have been hit in the head a lot - Dana’s been hit in the head a lot. Notoriously impulsive, notoriously susceptible to addiction, whether it’s gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, it’s a big part of CTE. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. That’s brain damage, from getting hit in the head. He did a lot of boxing when he was young, had his dome rattled.”

White’s history with boxing is pretty well documented. He began boxing as a teenager and went on to work with amateurs as a manager before moving into MMA. At one point in time he was supposed to box Tito Ortiz, and as recently as 2014, he stated he still boxes frequently. With the rise of awareness about CTE and its causes in recent years, the idea that a man who has boxed to one degree or another for thirty years isn’t completely far-fetched.

The term “punch drunk” has long been a colloquial term for boxers or MMA fighters who have seemingly suffered too many blows to the head. Dementia pugilistica is another term often used. Repeated head trauma is becoming a growing concern in MMA as fighters become more aware of the risks and have to start dealing with the consequences. Just last year, Jordan Parsons became the first MMA fighter to be diagnosed with CTE.

“You’re not supposed to get punched in the head ever,” said Rogan. “You’re definitely not supposed to get punched in the head multiple times a day for years.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

Failure. Conor McGregor makes controversial racial remarks at New York presser.

Response. Floyd Mayweather responds to McGregor saying, ‘You can’t disrespect black people.’

Goals. McGregor vows to one day ‘run Showtime too.’

Thin. Showtime Exec Stephen Espinoza admits his patience is running thin with Dana White.

7 fights. Joe Duffy signs a new seven-fight deal with the UFC.

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VIDEO STEW

Double up on the Dana videos.

A really good fan promo for the fight we should all be talking about.

Floyd Sr. saying Junior’s hands are messed up.

The man who beat Pacquiao giving Conor some tips.

Andre Ward weighing in on the “boy” controversy.

TTTHS.

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LISTEN UP

The Naked Truth. A trip down a Tapology rabbit hole and debating Amanda Nunes.

Press Row. Ben Fowlkes joins to talk about Sir Robert Knuckles.

The MMA Mad. James Lynch joins the show to talk International Fight Week.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

This.

Nate.

Love that this is the narrative here.

PFT gets to the heart of the matter.

Oh, and 50 responded.

Illuminati.

And so it continues.

Yet to confirm it’s true but seems likely and DP is pissed.

BJM knows.

Someone please ask Tony why he does this. It makes no sense. It’s Difficult To Capitalize Everything Like A Movie Title.

Only a matter of time til Ronda is in the WWE.

Torn between hoping this is true and hating everything about it.

Congrats.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Henry Briones (16-6-1) vs. Rani Yahya (23-9, 1 NC); UFC Fight Night Mexico City, Aug. 5.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

1995: Ken Shamrock became the first ever UFC Superfight champion, submitting Dan Severn with a guillotine choke at UFC 6. Also, Oleg Taktarov submitted Tank Abbott with a rear-naked choke to win the eight man tournament that evening, though there is some controversy surrounding the bout as Taktarov was part of what is widely considered to be the first fixed match in UFC history, when he submitted Anthony Macias in just nine seconds in the semifinals. The men shared a manager and Macias threw the fight so Taktarov wouldn’t have to expend energy ahead of facing Abbott in the finals. Abbott also made his debut that night with one of the most brutal knockouts in UFC history when he colded John Matua.

2012: Luke Rockhold won a unanimous decision over Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy, retaining his Strikeforce middleweight championship. In the co-main event that evening, Nate Marquardt stopped Tyron Woodley to win the Strikeforce welterweight title.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The only thing I will say on yesterday’s events: the idea that “welp, four days is too long for them to come up with interesting and new stuff” is garbage. Each of them is spending roughly 15 minutes up there. All tolled, that’s one HBO special worth of content they have to come up with. You’d think we could ask they be able to handle that since they’re the two best self-promoters in the game. FFS, hire writers to give you new material if you need but this idea that this is a product of the schedule and not of the men on stage is asinine to me.

Take it easy y’all and see you Monday.

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