UFC's White denies McGregor, Pimblett received favorable matchups

UFC CEO Dana White has flatly denied claims that the promotion arranges favorable matchups for popular stars such as Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett.

In a recent interview with North American outlet Spinnin Backfist, White said, "The one thing we never do is make favorable matchups," adding that "Pimblett, McGregor, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre — every fighter who has reached the top in the UFC got there by fighting their way up."

During the interview, the host praised Pimblett's performance, saying, "Paddy 'The Baddy's' win was truly remarkable — for those of us who have supported him for a long time, it was a fight where he proved his worth to a lot of people." The host then noted that early in Pimblett's career there had been widespread criticism that "he only gets easy opponents" and that "he's not UFC-level," before pointing out that Pimblett had since fought Justin Gaethje and then finished Benoit Saint Denis in 50 seconds.

White cut in immediately to push back. "The one thing we never do is make one-sided matchups," he said. "Every fighter who has reached the top in the UFC got there on their own. Not one successful fighter in the UFC has ever received a favorable matchup."

White placed Pimblett in the same category as the legendary champions who have defined the UFC, insisting the promotion has never handed any fighter an easy opponent.

He argued that Pimblett had built his own popularity precisely by taking on tough opponents like current champion Gaethje. White said Pimblett gained 2 million social media followers the weekend of his fight against Gaethje and picked up another 300,000 after his dominant performance against Saint Denis.

The UFC does give promising prospects and marketable fighters faster paths up the rankings, and even after a fighter wins a title, promotional support can vary based on popularity — a dynamic common across combat sports organizations. The phrase "champion's advantage" exists for a reason.

However, White drew a clear line between that kind of preferential treatment and matchmaking, firmly rejecting the notion that favorable matchups are part of the equation.