UFC PresidentDana White has been infected with the coronavirus, he said this week.- The only symptom he noticed was a loss of taste and smell, which he says he recovered in 48 hours.
Dana White says he's got COVID, is in self-isolation, and even called friend and MMA commentator Joe Rogan for advice on what to do.
The UFC boss broke the news during a 40-minute interview on The Jim Rome Show. White said he's vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the only noticeable symptom was a loss of smell, which he said he recovered from 48 hours later.
Rogan reportedly told White to take monoclonal antibodies, an NAD drip, and ivermectin — a drug typically used to treat parasitic infections in livestock, and parasitic worms in humans.
No health agency recommends people infected with coronavirus take ivermectin, and the FDA has actively advised against taking the drug in relation to COVID, as there is no evidence it helps treat the disease in any way.
Rogan has no medical expertise.
White said he likely got infected while in Maine over the Thanksgiving holidays. "It's tradition — we go up there every Thanksgiving.
"Somebody up there had it, and we get back and we all tested positive for COVID," he said. "Literally the whole family and my family up in Maine, too. Other than that, everything's awesome."
White said he returned to Las Vegas on Saturday. He said his Sunday routine is to take a cold plunge and then a steam, but when taking his steam on November 28, he realized he'd lost his sense of smell.
"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
White said he took monoclonal antibodies as soon as he could, in accordance with what Rogan — who got infected earlier this year — advised. He also had an NAD drip and "took a dose of ivermectin" Tuesday.
That same day, White says he got his sense of taste and smell back, and took a vitamin drip. "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."
White reminded listeners of The Jim Rome Show that he's vaccinated, and stressed he's not "some crazy, anti-vax conspiracy theorist," but trusts Rogan, who he called "a very smart guy."
Rogan's comments on COVID-19 have perplexed authorities, though.
"I'm not sure that taking scientific and medical advice from Joe Rogan is perhaps the most productive way for people to get their information," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN earlier this year.
It is unclear if White will attend his own event this weekend
UFC has not held an event since November 20, when Miesha Tate lost a women's bantamweight match to Ketlen Vieira in the main event of the evening. A week later, Tate gave a demonstration on how to remove one's own stitches.
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It is unclear if White will be able to attend his own event. "I'm going to keep testing every two days until I'm negative, and then I'm going to get back to work ASAP."
He said he hopes to attend this weekend's event. "If I test negative, then absolutely 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% clear, then I'll be back to work."