Dana White discusses life-saving donation to Thai girl: ‘It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White put a smile on fight fans faces earlier this week when he visited Phuket, Thailand, and snapped a photo with a girl named Tuptim, who White had donated $50,000 to back in 2010 for a liver operation.

Tuptim’s unfortunate medical situation was initially brought to White’s attention by mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Ben Pittsley, who trained at the Tiger Muay Thai camp where Tuptim’s father, Rattanachai Jadngooluem, was a teacher. Pittsley may have been a little aggressive in asking for White’s financial assistance in a passionate post to The Underground forum, but the UFC president wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“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.’”

Luckily for White, he was able to see Tuptim in person this past week thanks to a former UFC fighter

“(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.”

During a time in MMA when it’s all about making money, White’s kind gesture and life-saving effort seven years ago does not go unnoticed. But whether or not other people praise his generosity, White is walking away with one of the best experiences of his life.

“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.”