Why Emotional Intelligence Matters Even in the UFC
Dana White is a great example of someone who may be good at business…but still struggles with emotional intelligence.
During a podcast interview, he shared his disdain for mental health, saying:
“I hate that mental health bullshit. Unfortunately, when you're a man, you're a provider. You are the one who takes care of your family. You are the example for your kids. I see guys posting on social media...'Oh I had a bad day' and 'Oh I'm so sad'. It's just weak. It's unattractive.”
And honestly?
That mindset says a lot more about how society teaches men to suppress emotions than it does about mental health itself.
Because how do you build one of the most mentally demanding sports organizations in the world…
and still fail to recognize how important mental health is to performance?
Fighting is one of the clearest examples of emotional regulation under pressure imaginable.
You’re dealing with:
fear
anxiety
stress
self-doubt
pressure
public scrutiny
physical danger
adrenaline
expectation
And yet somehow talking about emotions is considered “weak”?
Meanwhile, the fighters themselves constantly talk about how mental the sport actually is.
Anderson Silva once said:
“The nerves are there every single fight.”
Conor McGregor said:
“The biggest battle is with yourself.”
And Georges St-Pierre said:
“Fighting is 90% mental and 10% physical.”
So clearly, the athletes understand something that a lot of society still struggles to accept:
Mental health is not separate from performance.
It’s foundational to it.
And honestly?
This is where emotional intelligence matters.
Because emotional intelligence is not:
crying all day
avoiding responsibility
refusing accountability
It’s the ability to:
understand your emotions
regulate them
communicate them
recognize patterns
manage stress
respond instead of react
Those are performance skills.
Especially for:
athletes
leaders
founders
parents
providers
The irony is that the exact men society tells to suppress their emotions are often the ones carrying the most pressure psychologically.
And when people are taught that expressing emotion makes them weak, they don’t stop feeling.
They just stop processing.
And unprocessed emotions don’t disappear.
They usually come out as:
anger
emotional shutdown
avoidance
addiction
burnout
aggression
anxiety
emotional numbness
Honestly, if Dana White took a few minutes to journal, he’d probably realize he struggles with polarized thinking.
The belief that:
“If you’re emotionally open, then you’re weak.”
As if strength and emotional honesty cannot exist at the same time.
But real emotional intelligence understands nuance.
You can:
be a provider AND care about your mental health
be masculine AND emotionally aware
be strong AND emotionally honest
lead others AND still need support yourself
Those things are not opposites.
And honestly?
A lot of men are exhausted from pretending they are.
Because suppressing emotions doesn’t make someone mentally stronger.
It just makes them emotionally disconnected from themselves.
That’s part of why we built Plurawl.
Not to replace therapy.
Not to tell people how to feel.
But to create a space where people can actually process what’s happening in their head before it turns into self-destruction.
Because mental health isn’t “bullshit.”
Ignoring it is what usually creates the real damage.
