Dana White agrees Deontay Wilder costume affected performance, ‘That’s why I don’t do any of that bulls*it in the UFC’

Don’t expect Dana White to let his fighters follow Deontay Wilder’s lead anytime soon.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, the UFC President was in agreement with Wilder’s theory that an ornate and apparently extraordinarily heavy walkout costume (Wilder claimed that it weighed over 40 pounds) played a factor in the former WBC heavyweight champion’s recent seventh-round TKO loss to Tyson Fury.

While White also made sure to credit Fury for his performance, he explained why he thought Wilder’s outfit may have been a bad idea and that it’s for the same reasons he doesn’t want UFC athletes going over the top with their entrances.

“I don’t know, I think that there’s a lot to it,” White said. “Fury looked awesome. Fury looked great. Fury fought a great fight. Fury fought a perfect fight. But if you think about boxing and fights, when fighters are getting ready, they’re in the back, they’re relaxing, some guy’s sleep, some guys just lay around and chill. Then you get up, you time it out and you do your warm-up, then you throw something on to stay warm. You don’t put all this gear on and all this stuff.

“That’s why I don’t do any of that bulls*it in the UFC. I don’t like it. I don’t like any of that—I don’t know.”

There have been some exceptions when it comes to White’s disapproval of overly elaborate walkouts. Current UFC champion Israel Adesanya memorably broke out a full dance routine ahead of his title fight win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. But those moments are rare under White’s watch and even Adesanya’s performance didn’t involve him wearing any sort of costume.

Should Adesanya decide to rock a suit of armor or perhaps an anime-inspired cosplay ahead of his title fight with Yoel Romero at UFC 248 this Saturday, you can bet that White will be somewhere shaking his head.

“[Wilder’s costume] definitely played a part in it, yeah,” White added. “Throwing on a 50-pound weighted vest and walking out to a ring for a heavyweight championship fight, you’ve never seen anybody do that in history.

“Is that the reason he lost? The reason he lost is because Fury is a badass boxer and he fought the perfect fight that night and executed his gameplan. But it played a factor in why Deontay lost.”