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Dana White Opens Up About Feud With Late Mother Over ‘King of MMA’ Book

Dana White Opens Up About Feud With Late Mother Over ‘King of MMA’ Book

Dana White rarely spends much time publicly dissecting his family history, but a new appearance on The Diary of a CEO brought one of the most uncomfortable chapters of his life back into view.

The UFC CEO spoke at length with Steven Bartlett about his late mother, June White, the breakdown of their relationship and “Dana White, King of MMA,” the unauthorized biography she published in 2011.

The book was already notorious among longtime MMA fans. June used it to present her own version of her son's rise and level a series of highly personal accusations about his character and private life. Dana says he has never actually read it.

What he did explain in considerably more detail was what he believes happened before the book ever appeared.

Dana White says money dispute started fallout with mother June White

White traced the beginning of the breakdown to a trip to London with former UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

According to White, he had been overseas for roughly two weeks and wasn't regularly checking email. When he returned, he said he found a series of increasingly hostile messages from his mother demanding money.

White recalled that June wanted money connected to plans to buy a bar and presented him with options to either provide it upfront or through payments. Because he had not replied while traveling, he said the messages became progressively more aggressive.

That exchange, in White's telling, was the “beginning of the end” of their relationship.

It is important to separate White's account from an independently established fact. June publicly disputed the same basic allegation years ago. In a 2011 interview promoting her book, she denied ever asking her son for money and also denied writing the biography as a way to make money from him.

The two accounts therefore remain directly at odds. White's latest interview gives his side of the family dispute in much greater detail, but June had already offered a very different version before her death.

Steven Bartlett shows Dana White his mother's book

The most uncomfortable moment came when Bartlett physically produced a copy of “Dana White, King of MMA” during the interview.

White looked through the book and said it included childhood photographs and personal images, including wedding pictures. He maintained that he had never given permission for those materials to be used.

 

 

White described the situation as one of the most “gross” and “disgusting” experiences to come with becoming successful. He also argued that the book hurt people beyond him, saying others were dragged into stories and accusations that he disputes.

His reaction was striking partly because he said he had avoided reading the book himself. White explained that lawyers had briefed him on its contents over the years, meaning the interview effectively forced him to interact with an object he had deliberately kept at a distance.

Ariel Helwani criticizes Steven Bartlett for producing the book

Bartlett's decision to bring the biography into the interview quickly became a story of its own.

Ariel Helwani criticized the move afterward, calling it “classless” and arguing that Bartlett could have asked White about the subject without physically handing him a book written by his estranged late mother.

 

 

The criticism adds another layer to a segment that was already uncomfortable by design. Bartlett's interview moved from White's childhood into questions about forgiveness and his parents, with the book used as a physical entry point into a subject White has historically preferred not to revisit.

White still gives his mother credit for raising him

Perhaps the most revealing part of White's comments was that he did not reduce the relationship to the final feud.

June raised Dana and his sister Kelly largely as a single mother while their father, Dana White Sr., was mostly absent. White spoke about the work involved in raising two children and moving the family across the country from the Boston area to Las Vegas.

He said he and his sister still look back at what their mother managed to do and give her credit for it, despite spending years estranged from her later in life.

That distinction has appeared before when White discusses his parents. In a 2023 interview, he revealed that both had died and explained that he had largely put those relationships behind him. His latest conversation with Bartlett did not suddenly turn into a reconciliation with the past; instead, White repeatedly returned to the idea that both the positive and negative parts of his upbringing helped shape him.

He also said he does not want to use interviews to attack his mother now that she is gone.

What was “Dana White, King of MMA”?

“Dana White, King of MMA” was published by June White in 2011 and explicitly marketed as an unauthorized biography.

The book covered Dana's childhood, family, education, moves between Boston and Las Vegas and his eventual rise through the UFC. It also included June's criticisms of the person she believed her son had become after achieving success.

The book resurfaced prominently in 2023 after an old interview with June circulated again following Dana White's filmed altercation with his wife in Mexico. That renewed attention brought some of June's old allegations back into MMA discussion more than a decade after publication.

White continues to reject significant portions of his mother's portrayal. June, before her death, likewise rejected his claim that she had been seeking money from him. With both sides having publicly contradicted each other, parts of the underlying family dispute remain impossible to establish independently.

The interview showed two very different sides of Dana White

The family discussion stood out because the rest of White's recent public persona remains built around the things MMA fans already associate with him: running the UFC, business, risk-taking and gambling.

A recent clip circulating separately showed White winning a reported $1 million baccarat hand, another reminder of just how different the public-facing Dana White can look from the one discussing an estranged parent.

 

 

The mother-and-son story, though, is the part of the interview likely to linger. Fifteen years after June White published the book, Dana has finally given a fuller account of why he believes their relationship collapsed — while also making clear that he still respects what she did for him and his sister before everything went wrong.

Dana White and June White FAQ

Why did Dana White stop speaking to his mother?

Dana White says the relationship deteriorated after his mother sent him a series of increasingly hostile emails demanding money while he was traveling in London. He described that episode as the beginning of the end of their relationship. June White previously denied ever asking her son for money.

What book did Dana White's mother write about him?

June White published “Dana White, King of MMA” in 2011. The book was marketed as an unauthorized biography and covered Dana White's childhood, family life, personality and rise through the UFC.

Has Dana White read “Dana White, King of MMA”?

White says he has never read the book. He said lawyers informed him about its contents over the years, and Steven Bartlett showed him a physical copy during his October 2026 appearance on The Diary of a CEO.

What did Dana White say about his mother's book?

White strongly condemned it, objecting both to its claims and to the inclusion of personal photographs. He also said he believes other people were unfairly hurt by material included in the book.

What did Ariel Helwani say about Steven Bartlett showing Dana White the book?

Ariel Helwani criticized Bartlett for physically giving White a copy of the book during the interview. Helwani called the move classless and argued that Bartlett could have simply asked White about his mother and the biography.

Did Dana White forgive his mother?

White has not described the estrangement as a conventional reconciliation. His mother died before their relationship was repaired, but he continues to credit her for raising him and his sister Kelly as a single mother and for the sacrifices she made when they were young.

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