UFC president Dana White tests positive for Covid and seeks recovery advice from Joe Rogan
The 52-year-old said his entire family also contracted the disease while celebrating Thanksgiving
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.UFC president Dana White has revealed he and his family tested positive for Covid-19 after Thanksgiving, and that he took recovery advice from ring announcer and podcast star Joe Rogan.
White may miss this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas as a result of contracting the disease, which Rogan also caught this year and treated in controversial fashion.
Speaking on The Jim Rome Podcast, White said: “We went up to my place in Maine for Thanksgiving. Somebody up there had it, and we get back and we all tested positive for Covid – literally the whole family and my family up in Maine, too.
“We got back on Saturday. On Sunday – I cold plunge and steam everyday – I get out of the cold plunge and I get in the steam, and I spray the eucalyptus and I couldn’t smell anything. So I open the bottle, I start sniffing the bottle of eucalyptus, and I’m like: ‘Yeah, I got no smell.’ So you know what this means.
“I literally got out of the steam, picked up my phone and called Joe Rogan.”
Rogan controversially took a number of drugs in an attempt to treat his case of Covid-19 this year, including ivermectin – a drug originally used as a horse de-wormer before being adapted for human use to treat similar parasitical issues.
Rogan, 54, said he was prescribed the medication, though the Food and Drug Administration said they have not “authorized or approved ivermectin” as a coronavirus treatment.
White, 52, continued: “[Joe] said: ‘As soon as you get up in the morning, get tested.’ So I get up 9 o’clock Monday morning, get tested, I test positive. He said get monoclonal antibodies in you as soon as possible, so I did. By noon, I had the monoclonal antibodies in me and then he told me to do a NAD drip. I did that.
“I get up Tuesday. Getting ready to shave, cleaning my razor, I could smell the alcohol. My taste and smell were back the next day by 11 o’clock in the morning. Then I took a dose of ivermectin yesterday and then I did a vitamin drip and then today I did another NAD drip.
“[I] could not feel better. Feel like a million bucks. I’m doing two-a-day workouts by the way for the next 10 days while I have Covid, I’m in quarantine. I got my smell and taste back in less than 24 hours.”
White went on to say he is in fact vaccinated against the disease, adding: “It’s not like I’m some crazy anti-vax conspiracy theorist or some of that stuff, but Rogan is a very brilliant guy, very smart guy who talks to the best and the brightest out there, and I’m not a believer in the narrative.
“But at the end of the day, this is a free country. ‘Cause what happens when you get this stuff, they tell you stay home for the next 10 days until you don’t test positive. That doesn’t seem smart to me. Just like when we went through Covid, I believe in finding solutions to problems and answers.
“Rogan has worked with over 30 or 40 people that have done this and he swears by it, and he’s a good friend of mine that I’ve known for over 20 years. So yeah, I believe in what he’s saying. I believe the way he explained to me on how this thing works, [it] made sense to me.”
Despite a recommended 10-day isolation period, White is keen to appear at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event at the promotion’s Apex institute in Las Vegas.
“I’m attacking this thing with the methods that Rogan has learned from very smart people,” White said. “I’m going to keep testing every two days until I’m negative and then I’m going to get back to work ASAP. I hope [to be at this weekend’s UFC event].
“If I test negative, then absolutely positively I’ll be there. I’m going to do the exact protocol that’s supposed to be done to make sure I’m clean and can go and be around people again.
“As soon as that’s 100 per cent clear, then I’ll be back to work.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments