UFC President Dana White is the most visible presence of the industry-leading promotion and has been for more than a decade. But from time to time, he still browses the internet like a regular fan to see what’s being said about his work and MMA.
When he does, he visits The Underground, a long-running message board that serves as the sport’s collective ID and has helped keep MMA vibrant over so many years. A chance visit to the site in 2010 led to an unexpectedly life-changing moment for White and a young girl from Thailand, who’s alive today thanks to the UFC executive’s charity.
The girl, Tuptim Jadnooleum, is the daughter of “Kru Nai” Rattanachai, a teacher at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA in Phuket, Thailand. She needed a liver transplant and would die if the family couldn’t come up with the $50,000 needed to perform the surgery.
The dire situation was brought to light by MMA fighter Ben Pittsley, who trained at the camp. He posted an emotional plea on The Underground to help the Jadnooleum family, noting she would die in two weeks if she didn’t receive help. He specifically called out White.
“He really pointed me out,” White recently told Yahoo! Sports. “And a lot of people gave him some slack in the way that he was talking to me, like, ‘You should do this.’ But the guy talked to me the way that I talk, and I understood what he was saying, and I said, ‘You know what? This guy’s right.'”
White transferred the $50,000 and helped save Tuptim’s life. But he didn’t see the effect of his donation until he recently visited Phuket on vacation (via Twitter).
Seven years later, Tuptim Jadnooleum is alive and well, though she still needs medications to fight off infections.
“(Retired UFC fighter) Mike Swick set it up for us to meet, and I met her. We hung out a couple days ago, and it was awesome,” White said. “She’s beautiful, and she’s the sweetest thing in the world, and her family are really nice, good people. Last night we went to the muay Thai fights together, and she sat with me. It was awesome. I want to have a relationship with her. I don’t want that to be the last time I ever see her.”
White subsequently invited the girl and her family to accompany him to a UFC show in Las Vegas.
“It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done in my life,” White said. “I feel so lucky that I was able to do it.”
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