At the press conference for UFC 308, Dana White placed a cup of water in front of Ilia Topuria while talking to the media. Of course, it happened because of White’s habit of placing his drinks to his right. But the MMA world ensured that the UFC head honcho realized what he did, after Topuria provided a puppy-faced reaction to it. The incident got to the headlines because ‘El Matador’ was on a weight cut. When White put the cup in front of him back then, he strained to fight the urge to take a sip.
During the weight cut, fighters go through severe dehydration to avoid putting on water weight. On the day before, or days of the weigh-ins, many don’t even have a sip of water. And that justified the reaction that Topuria gave. At the post-fight press conference for UFC 308, a reporter pointed it out to White. And the UFC CEO admitted, “Yeah, I saw that. I need to be more aware of… I was thirsty too, but I should have waited till after the press conference.” It seemed like the incident wouldn’t be repeated until it happened once again at the UFC 317 pre-fight press conference.
Yes, the UFC boss once again placed his drink in front of the former featherweight champion. But this time, Topuria didn’t sit there staring at the cup, hoping for a sip. Instead, he pointed it out to White. And, being the good boss that he is, the 55-year-old moved the cup away from ‘El Matador’. Being a lightweight contender now, the Spaniard didn’t as fazed by the cup of water as he was back in October 2024.
However, fans and media were quick enough to jump all over the moment. As expected, the footage went viral again. Full Violence shared a video on Instagram where both instances were showcased. The caption to the post read, “Dana did Ilia dirty AGAIN .” And the fans went feral in the comments section.
Since it had already happened once before, the fighting community seemed to have a tough time believing the second instance to be real. Let’s take a look at what they had to say.
Fans allege “Water Gate” between Dana White and Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 press conference
Most fans believe that the incident at UFC 317 press conference was staged. One fan commented, “Naw bruh this was staged beyond belief .” Another fan added, “Dana exactly knows what he was doing.” The fans believe so because White had already apologized to Topuria about the UFC 308 press conference moment. A fan weighed in on that and commented, “it’s even funnier cause dana apologized for doing this last time .”
And now, fans feel like he did it on purpose. One fan wrote, “he doing it on purpose at this point.” Another fan commented, “Dana did on purpose i swear..” But it was also a pointer for some that ‘El Matador’ would be the one to wear the lightweight championship belt after beating Charles Oliveira. A comment read, “Thats how you know he winning .”
Meanwhile, a few more fans made comments on the Spaniard’s stance as a lightweight. He relatively doesn’t have to cut as much weight to enter the Octagon as a lightweight contender. And that was the reason his reaction to the cup was different this time. One fan commented, “At least he didn’t have to cut as much this time.” Another fan added, “He don’t even need to cut weight.”
Once bitten, twice shy—staged or not, Topuria took a stand this time. But come D-Day, expect a fully hydrated and stocked up ‘El Matador’ standing across the Octagon from Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira.
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