Dana White erupts over War Machine arrest, slams click-happy media for calling him 'ex-UFC fighter'

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White was on vacation in Bora Bora when news broke that one of his former fighters, "War Machine," was connected to the brutal assault that left porn star Christy Mack (and this guy) hospitalized with severe injuries (see the photos here).

And he's not too happy with the media for calling War Machine -- aka Jon Koppenhaver -- an "ex-UFC fighter" because it proves to him they are more interested in clicks than facts.

From his recent pre-fight media scrum (watch it here):

"It's horrible, man. Horrible. And every time I gotta look and see, ‘Ex-UFC fighter' when the stories are written. He fought twice [in the UFC], six years ago! He's a current Bellator-Viacom fighter. I had my staff calling these reporters are like, ‘We don't know what Bellator is.' And I said, ‘You ever heard of Viacom?' That's who he fights for. He fights for Viacom, not the UFC. They want clicks, they want readers. How unfair is it? The guy fought six years ago and he's an ex-UFC fighter? He's been a Bellator fighter since they started Bellator, or however long. It has been, years since he has been fighting for them. I get it, not everybody has heard of him, but it's freakin' Viacom."

Koppenhaver got his start on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show and went on to compile a 1-1 record inside the Octagon from 2007-08, but didn't compete for Bellator until June 2013.

Both stints were short-lived.

Fight fans will remember a similar criticism when EX-UFC FIGHTER Jason Miller was arrested for domestic violence. As soon as the shit hit the fan, White lambasted the media for associating "Mayhem" with the world's fastest-growing combat sports promotion (see those comments here).

Unfortunately, you can't have the spotlight without the microscope.

War Machine, it should be noted, was cut from Bellator back on Aug. 8, 2014. He's now in custody following last Friday's arrest in Simi Valley, California (full report here) and is expected to be extradited back to Las Vegas, Nevada, to answer for his charges.

Stay tuned.