Montclair and UFC Connections Give Future Sports Communications Pro a Puncher’s Chance

Winning in physically demanding sports like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), requires an aggressive mindset and plan in order to be victorious. As Journalism and Digital Media major Ryan White discovered as the spring 2023 semester was ending, that approach can lead to opportunities and success away from the bright lights of competition.

White is a rising senior at Montclair who is passionate about sports and in particular, UFC. He is the sports editor for The Montclarion and has written about former Montclair student Erin Blanchfield, who has found tremendous success in UFC. His journey to covering a UFC event in the spring as a credentialed media member began with a simple request that often students are hesitant to make- he simply asked one of his professors for help.

Enter Associate Professor of Sports Media Kelly Whiteside, who leads the Sports Communication program. Although Professor Whiteside did not have a direct contact at UFC, she emailed the organization’s PR team on White’s behalf, explaining his love and familiarity with the sport. Dave Lockett, Senior PR Director for UFC, responded quickly and within an hour he was on the phone with Professor Whiteside.

Their conversation led to an important lesson for White-there might be many reasons why someone might decide to help another person. It turns out Lockett is from Montclair and in addition to appreciating White’s passion for the sport as a college student, he also liked the idea of helping someone from this area. Thanks to Lockett and his team, White had full access to each media event starting on Wednesday through the main event on Saturday, May 6 at the Prudential Center.

“The next thing you know after this phone call, I was going to attend the fight as a credentialed media reporter. It was pretty incredible,” White said.

What happened next was even more exciting. “The first day was cool, it was Media Day at the fighters’ hotel. It was my first experience doing something professional like this. I had the opportunity to ask every fighter that was doing media, which was most of the card, 2-3 questions each. There were a couple of reporters there I recognized and knew of from following the sport so closely, so that was cool to meet some of them.”

If White thought Wednesday was a great experience, the next day wildly exceeded his expecations and might have served as a launching point for his career. “Thursday was the main press conference at the Prudential Center and these media events are always shown live on YouTube. I asked two questions to each of the fighters in the main event, and once I finished the questions, UFC President Dana White (no relation) who is hosting the press conference points to me and tells me “those are some great questions,” which was amazing. In that moment. I was like, ‘wow, I did something right’ because you could tell even the fighters got pretty riled up with what I asked; they were really into it, standing up and yelling. It was one of the highlights of the press conference, to be honest.”

It got even better.  “I handed the mic over to the next reporter, and Dana is still trying to talk to me during the press conference. But I don’t have the mic anymore. So he’s like yelling towards me, ‘what’s your name, who do you write for?’ I’m yelling back to him and telling him I’m a student at Montclair, but he can’t really hear me. A few minutes later, the press conference is ending and a couple UFC PR people approached me to ask who I was and who I wrote for. They came back and told me that they were going to bring me backstage.”

His backstage experience led to a meeting and conversation with Dana White about his knowledge of the sport, his experience as a Montclair student and his work on Blanchfield. “He told me he was impressed by my questions and that I wasn’t asking the same type of questions like the (professional) reporters. It was wild.”

To cap off the series of press conferences, Nobie Manivanh from UFC’s PR team had a suprise for White when he checked in for the media activities on Friday- a ringside seat to cover the main event on Saturday. “I ended up in the front row next to the Octagon, all because Dana White liked my questions and the PR staff was there to assist me. You can see me on the broadcast since I am so close to the Octagon and the press conferences. My friends sent me texts about it all week.”

What lessons did he take away from the experience? “Maybe I’d like to be a PR pro one day for a company because I never experienced anything like that or knew too much about what they did. They were super helpful, managed the media and organized the press events. It was cool, and I was thankful for them and perhaps could see myself doing something like that one day.”

And what would he tell his fellow students who are trying to make an impression or leave their mark the way he did? “I would tell my classmates to always try and reach out to people to make connections, or just take a chance on just asking if something is possible. If you build things slowly, little by little, you’ll get to where you want to go. Taking that first step and making that ask is so important.”

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About the School of Communication and Media: Founded in 2012, the School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 1,800. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, animation and visual effects, and an MA in public and organizational relations, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper, Hawk Communications Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Story by Keith Green, School of Communication & Media