Dana White loves blackjack but hates sports betting as he recalls $1m boxing bet he lost that ruined his… – talkSPORT.com

Dana White is known for his blackjack prowess, but is more hesitant when it comes to gambling on live sports.

In fact, the UFC president hates it and it could be because one incident left a particularly bad taste in his mouth.

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In 2007, he was sure Jermain Taylor would defend his WBO and WBC middleweight titles against Kelly Pavlik.

This was the unbeaten Taylors fifth defence but instead he was surprisingly knocked out by The Ghost.

And White recalled the upset ruining his holiday that September in a conversation on the Full Send Podcast.

The biggest sports bet? $1million. I lost. I f***ing hate betting on sports. Hate it, hate it.

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Remember Jermain Taylor, the boxer? Good looking f***ing kid came up through the Olympics and married [basketball player Erica Taylor].

He fought that white kid from [Ohio] and I thought Jermain Taylor was going to kill him.

Jermain Taylor got destroyed. I was in Cabo, relaxing having fun. That ruined my fun. Ruined my whole trip.

Pavlik was actually dropped by the champion in the second round, but got off the canvas to fight back and take the belts.

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In round seven, he left Taylor slumped in the corner with a combination of hooks and uppercuts, with Taylor ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

He then defended his crown in February 2008 in the rematch and reigned in the division until he lost his title in 2010.

White, meanwhile, much prefers cards and has been to known to win as much as $7m in one night in casinos and is so good at blackjack hes been banned from a number of them as a result.

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When the Palms decided theyd had enough of being cleaned out, they decided to give him a belt in the style of a UFC title with the words Undisputed Blackjack Champion inscribed on there.

Instead of just asking me to leave the way that they did, they gave me this [title], he said.

Undisputed Blackjack champion. 24-0. This is a cool way to say get the f*** out of our casino and dont come back.

White is said to have a net worth of $500m and a tidy bonus that keeps his back account looking healthy, yet in the same interview with Full Send, he revealed he was willing to give it all up during the pandemic to keep people in their jobs.

Instead, his insistence that the show must go on saw him organise what became known as Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in order to keep the ball rolling and ensuring the financial security of his employees and fighters.

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It's back and just in time for the new Premier League season, which begins on 13 August with Brentford hosting Arsenal on Friday night

He explained he couldnt make redundancies for staff who have remained loyal to the UFC for 10-20 years.

Well all go down together or none of us will go down, he added.

Like him or loathe him, he doesnt care. Without his foresight, the UFC may not be where it is today and he clearly enjoys all the spoils that brings judging by the hotel room he was recently put up in for UFC 265.

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Dana White loves blackjack but hates sports betting as he recalls $1m boxing bet he lost that ruined his... - talkSPORT.com