UFC President Dana White has an unlikely relationship with Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua, who calls him “Uncle Dana.”
White has known Nacua since he was a youth football player. Nacua grew up in Las Vegas and was friends with White’s son, Dana III. The NFL star receiver played alongside White’s son for the Little Cowboys, and Nacua spent a considerable amount of time at the UFC and Power Slap figure‘s house. “My kids grew up with Puka. He grew up in our house,” White said during an interview last year with Julian Edelman on ‘Games With Names’ podcast.
White continued when Edelman asked how good Nacua was as a player: “Ballin’. Me and Lorenzo used to fund a team called the ‘Little Cowboys’ and he was on the ‘Little Cowboys’ with my kids and a bunch of other guys that are playing right now.
“There’s a few kids that went to the NFL from that team, and good colleges, too. To see Puka doing what he’s doing now, it could not happen to a better human being. When you meet this kid, you will love this kid. He’s such a good kid.”
In his rookie season, Nacua took a call from White after asserting himself as one of the Rams’ most reliable players. “I love seeing you in the Rams gear! I’m so proud of you, man,” White told Nacua in the call.
Nacua has already outlined his career plans. The 23-year-old would like to retire from the NFL at 30. “I know I want to retire at the age of 30,” Nacua told the “Join the Lobby” podcast.
“I’m 23 right now, I’m going into year three – it wouldn’t even be 10 years. It’d be maybe seven or eight. I think of Aaron Donald, to go out at the top, I think it would be super cool.”
Nacua is one of six children and wants a big family himself. That’s a motivator behind retiring early. “I want to be able to be a part of their lives and be as active as I can with them,” he continued. “The injuries are something you can’t control (as) part of the game, so you never know.”
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He added: “Hopefully, the rest of the career can go healthy, but you have shoulder surgery, you have knee surgery, you have ankle…
“By the time my kids could be 18, I could be barely walking if you play the game and sustain all the injuries and stuff like that, but I want to retire early.”
