Watch: When Dana White revealed to the Nelk Boys that he ran from Boston to avoid paying protection money to the Mob

Nelk Boys (right), Dana White (left) [Images courtesy of @nelkboys on Instagram]
Nelk Boys (right), Dana White (left) [Images courtesy of @nelkboys on Instagram]

When Dana White sat down to talk to the Nelk Boys on their podcast in January 2022, the infamous story of why the UFC president left Boston came into the conversation. It's well documented that the South Boston Mob had asked White to pay a sum of money in order to stop being harassed by them.

The Boston gang wanted $2,500 dollars from White, which they requested when they went into one of the businessman's gyms in the "late eighties to early nineties." After the now-UFC president refused, he fled to Las Vegas for safety.

Watch White speak about the incident here:

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The man in charge of the Boston Mob was Whitey Bulger, not Al Capone, as seen in the Nelk Boys video thumbnail. However, speaking to the popular YouTube group, Dana White insisted that it wasn't Bulger who personally asked for the money:

"Everybody says it was Whitey Bulger. It wasn't, it was one of his guys."

The UFC president went onto say that he tried to avoid the mobsters, as $2,500 dollars was like asking him for $25,000 dollars given White's financial situation at the time.

Eventually, White had to leave and claims to have called Delta instantly after getting the last phone call from Bulger's crew:

"So I literally hung up the phone [after being asked for the money], picked it back up and called Delta."

Is Dana White friends with Donald Trump?

On the topic of controversial acquaintances, Dana White previously stated that he deems Donald Trump a friend, seemingly due to the support he has given the UFC over the years. White also helped with the former United States president's election campaign and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Ohio.

While speaking, the UFC president said that he knew if he ever needed Trump, the former president would be there for him. White also expressed his appreciation for the early support of MMA and the UFC.

Watch White speak about Trump below:

Their relationship doesn't seem to be entirely politically motivated, with the UFC boss saying that they had a friendship before Trump ran for the presidency.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard