Dana White on his phone during UFC 274. Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Dana White was furious after UFC star’s pullout despite being told he’d have ‘died’ if he weighed in

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 11:01 PM ET

Dana White had little sympathy for a stricken UFC fighter six years ago today.

The promotion’s start to 2026 recently took a hit with Kayla Harrison’s withdrawal from UFC 324 due to a significant neck injury. That has forced her bantamweight title defense against Amanda Nunes to be postponed.

Last year’s first numbered event had even later problems after Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of his title challenge against Islam Makhachev hours before the UFC 311 weigh-ins.

That clearly put the Armenian in White’s bad books, where he has seemingly remained ever since. But Tsarukyan is far from being the first fighter to infuriate the UFC president because of a late withdrawal.

Uriah Hall was told he would have ‘died the next day’ if he weighed in for UFC St. Louis

On this day, January 14, in 2018, a UFC Fight Night took place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

The event was headlined by Jeremy Stephens knocking out Dooho Choi in a memorable main event and included wins for Kamaru Usman and Jessica-Rose Clark.

That card was also meant to feature another prominent name: middleweight contender Uriah Hall. However, ‘Primetime’ was pulled from his scheduled showdown with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort after fainting before the weigh-ins.

The situation was clearly serious after Hall was hospitalized for 48 hours, and Hall described the terrifying UFC St. Louis ordeal during an Instagram Live stream a few days later.

“It was probably the most traumatic experience I’ve ever had,” he said regarding the moment he fainted on his way to the scales.

“I mean, I was in and out of it. I was conscious, but I was unconscious. I knew what was happening, but I was fighting over it.

“I think I had a mini-seizure and at the same time a slight heart attack. My kidneys were just not good,” he added.

He also recalled the doctor telling him that he would probably have “died the next day” if he attempted to weigh in for UFC St. Louis.

But that was not enough to stop the boss from publicly bashing Hall.

Dana White blamed Uriah Hall for the medical scare before UFC St. Louis

The severity of Hall’s condition did not result in Dana White holding back with his thoughts about the situation at the UFC St. Louis post-fight press conference.

In fact, White actually blamed ‘Primetime’ for the apparent near-death experience, claiming that the middleweight fighter’s lifestyle choices contributed to the medical scare.

“The guys at the UFC (Performance Institute) said he’s the, what’s the word — he doesn’t take it serious,” White said.

“He doesn’t take his training serious, he doesn’t do what anybody tells him. He does his own thing. A week before the fight, he went to L.A. and was hanging out in L.A. in clubs and stuff. So, not good.

“If you don’t cut weight the right way and you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, this is what happens,” he added.

White’s remarks received plenty of backlash, including from Hall’s coach, Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick.

The renowned trainer was upset to see White react the way he did, telling the UFC president that Hall “almost died for your organization.”

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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