Dana White walks off Howie Mandel’s podcast after just 30 seconds

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Someone needs to learn how to take a compliment.

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Dana White apparently was not up for whatever kind words Howie Mandel had for the UFC president when he was a guest on the Canadian comedian’s podcast.

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After a rather flowery intro from Mandel, White proceeded to take off his headphones and walk off the set – after just 30 seconds of recording.

What was the reason for White’s walkoff? We’ll never know, but Mandel was complimentary – to say the least.

“Sometimes when you wish upon a star, the star shows up,” Mandel said before introducing White.

“Dana White, you are an amazing guy. I can’t thank you enough for being here. You and (fellow guest, comedian Ginger Billy) seem to be getting along. You are not only an amazing businessman, you are an inspiration. You are a philosopher — the way you do business, the way you conduct your business and your friendships and media, I’m jealous. Dana, I can’t thank you enough for being here.”

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Apparently, that was enough for White, who has been a guest on his fair share of podcasts recently with a ton of media and celebrities flooding to Las Vegas for last weekend’s Super Bowl.

“Thank you for all the kind words, I appreciate it,” White said before walking off the set. “I am so f–king tired of doing podcasts. I am literally done with them. I am not doing any more podcasts.”

This left Mandel, co-host Jackelyn Shultz and Ginger Billy shocked but they continued somewhat normally as soon as the door to the room could be heard closing behind White.

Of course, many have seen this move as a publicity stunt by White and Mandel to help boost exposure for the podcast and the UFC, which has a big pay-per-view event this weekend.

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As the New York Post noted, White “has nearly become a full-blown social media influencer at this point,” and recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and The Full Send Podcast while doing also participating on live streams with the Nelk Boys.

White also has said in the past that he doesn’t care what the media thinks of him and has repeatedly been antagonistic towards reporters that have called him out before.

“The media are the dumbest, know nothing, do nothing, never f**king built nothing mother f**kers on planet earth,” White said on the Bussin with the Boys podcast in November. “Why does their opinion matter? What have they ever done? What have they ever created?”

When the MMA promotion was in Toronto last month for UFC 297, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland made some controversial remarks about the LGBTQ community.

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However, White defended Strickland’s right to say “whatever they want” when he was questioned about it. When a reporter suggested that White gives his fighters a “long leash,” White cut him off.

“First of all, I don’t give anybody a leash. A leash? Free speech,” White said. “To control what people say and to tell people what to believe… I don’t tell any other f****** human being what to say, what to think, and there’s no leashes on any of them.”

White continued: “It’s ridiculous to say I give somebody a leash. Free speech, brother. People can say whatever they want, and they can believe whatever they want.”

While we might never know the true motive for the walkout, what we do know is that White knows how to get people talking — for better or worse.

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