UFC president Dana White rips NHL's marketing: 'They're old, dumb f—ing people'

Dana White has never been one to beat around the bush. Now he's taking aim at the NHL.

Appearing in a video with the Nelk Boys, a social media influencer brand that has millions of followers, the UFC president went off on the NHL for its outdated marketing philosophies, and took issue that the league's potential endorsement deal with the Nelk Boys fell through.

“F—‘em. They are all old, dumb f—ing people that have no idea what’s going on," White said of the NHL. "They have no idea where this younger generation is, how you reach them. Any of that s—t...

“So, all these people that are talking s—t out there,” White continued. “You know, it’s all old, dumb f—ing journalists. NHL don’t want the Nelk Boys? No problem, I got ’em.”

White referenced some statistics that showed where the NHL has been lagging, pointing out how his new fight promotion, Power Slap, has been succeeding with viral content, receiving 90 million video views, compared to just 25 million views the NHL received during its conference finals last month.

It is unclear when the video was filmed, but the timing was interesting given the United States ratings for the Stanley Cup Final were released earlier this week, and according to Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff, Game 5 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers was the smallest audience for a Cup-clinching game in 30 years.

Per Larkin:

The series’ average viewership of 2.6 million viewers represented a 43% drop from the average of 4.6 million taking in the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning last season.

However, the regular season and earlier three rounds of the playoffs saw a spike in ratings. The NHL reported that games on ABC saw a 19% increase from the previous year, so the Stanley Cup Final numbers could have been a reflection of two small-market teams that do not have a national following.