UFC president Dana White during a post-Contender Series presser.
UFC president Dana White during a post-Contender Series presser. | Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages

Despite being vaccinated, the UFC president is the latest MMA figure to be struck by COVID-19. But he claims he's all good now, thanks in part to Joe Rogan's methods.

UFC president Dana White had always been dismissive of the threat of COVID-19. Last November, he made it clear that it was both something he felt everyone would end up getting, but that also wasn't a serious concern.

"COVID's one of these things we're all gonna get. We're all gonna get it. I haven't got it yet, I've been traveling, I've been living a pretty normal life.

"I haven't got it yet, but it's like the flu, it's like the cold, we're eventually gonna get it."

At the very least, it appears White was correct in saying it was only a matter of time before he caught the disease. In a recent appearance on the Jim Rome podcast on Monday, the outspoken executive revealed that while he has been vaccinated, he and his family contracted the Coronavirus as a result of a recent trip to Maine for Thanksgiving.

"We just went up to my place in Maine, you know, for Thanksgiving. It's tradition, we go up there every Thanksgiving and somebody up there had (COVID). And we get back and we all tested positive for COVID.

"Literally the whole family, and my family up in Maine, too. Other than that, everybody's awesome."

"We got back on Saturday. On Sunday… I cold plunge and steam every day so I get out of the cold plunge, I get in the steam and I sprayed a eucalyptus and I was like, 'What the hell…' I couldn't smell anything.

"I open the bottle, I start sniffing the bottle of eucalyptus, and I'm like, 'Yeah. I got no smell. You know what this means.'

And that's the point where White turned to an expert. That's right, he called Joe Rogan.

"I literally got out of the steam, picked up my phone, and called Joe Rogan. I said, 'Listen, I have no smell, which means I probably have no taste.' He 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 an NAD drip. I did that right after.

And while studies have strongly suggested that vaccination is clearly the most prominent factor in limiting the severity of cases of COVID-19 (and even manufacturers of Ivermectin have released statements that the drug does not appear to be an effective treatment for COVID-19), that hasn't stopped White from trumpeting his use of alternative therapies as a major part of his recovery.

"The next day… So Sunday at 8 o'clock at night, I have no taste and smell. I get up Tuesday, get ready to shave, cleaning my razor, I could smell the alcohol. My taste and smell were back by the next day at 11 o'clock in the morning. Then I took a dose of Ivermectin. Yesterday, I did a vitamin drip, and then today I'm doing another NAD drip.

"Could not feel better, feel like a million bucks. I'm doing two a day workouts, by the way, too, for the next ten days while I have COVID. I got my smell and taste back in less than 24 hours."

Obviously, considering White's access to top end medical care, and his willingness to get vaccinated, there could only be one followup question: why call Rogan and not a licensed expert?

"I'm vaccinated," he said. "It's not like I'm some, you know, crazy anti-vax conspiracy theorist or anything like 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.

"I'm not a big believer in the narrative, but at the end of the day, this is a free country. 'Cause, what happens is when you get this stuff, they'll tell you, 'Stay home for the next ten 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. 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."

White says he hopes he could attend Saturday's UFC Vegas 44 event, but promises he'll make sure he gets a clean bill of health before doing so.