UFC President Dana White is an extremely loyal man to his employers and the biggest example of it is Joe Rogan. White and Rogan have been such good friends that the latter is even ready to walk away from the UFC if the former was to leave the company. Aside from Rogan and White, the longest-serving UFC employee is Bruce Buffer. But, it seems like, after such a long and fruitful relationship, all may not be well in their relationship.
Recently, UFC President Dana White took to his Instagram account to share an image of Bruce Buffer with a protective face mask. The picture appears to be taken inside an airplane and that too very recently. The 53-year-old decided to post the picture and called out the veteran ring announcer for wearing a face mask. It is widely known that Dana White is not a fan of masks.
Hence, stating his displeasure, Dana wrote, “I gotta talk to my guy. He hasn’t heard it’s 2023 and everything’s fine.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, fans rarely caught Dana White with a face mask. White was only seen wearing a mask during the 2021 acquisition of the UFC when Endeavor agreed to take over the rest of the company after already buying 50.1% of the company in 2016. During the official ceremony, Dana White was seen with a mask. Other than that, very rarely did the fans see White abiding by the recommended protocols.
Bruce Buffer is a big believer in vaccines
Bruce Buffer does not live his life the same way UFC President Dana White does. During the live UFC events in the middle of the pandemic, Buffer was always seen with masks on his face and he abided by all the recommended health protocols during the pandemic.
But, despite following the protocols, he contracted the virus and missed UFC 267 because of it. However, he did not hesitate to get vaccinated and he was thankful for receiving timely vaccinations.
He added. “I thank God I’m vaccinated… I had the (Johnson & Johnson vaccine). I plan on getting the booster; now I don’t have to get that for two or three months, whatever is allowed because you’re antibodies build up with this.” (h/t via MMA Junkie)
It does seem like Buffer differs from the views that Joe Rogan shares on the matter. In early 2022, Rogan had to apologize for vaccine hesitancy and for allegedly spreading misinformation. Even after he got COVID, Rogan did not opt for the vaccines and chose alternative treatment methods that included ivermectin. However, Rogan faced the wrath of CNN, as the news outlet claimed the medicine to be a horse dewormer.
Despite the apologetic tone at first, Rogan fired back at CNN for allegedly tampering with his COVID announcement video. Recently, the 55-year-old UFC commentator had a huge online argument with pediatrician Peter Hotez. Hotez made the claim that Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who was against vaccinating children, was wrong to preach vaccination hesitancy in his appearance in “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Rogan offered Hotez the chance to have a debate with RFK Jr, but the pediatrician did not have a direct answer to it. But Bruce Buffer, who has been with the UFC since 1996, is not a subscriber of Rogan’s school of thought. The UFC employee of 27 years was even open to receiving booster doses after receiving the initial doses of the vaccination.