Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is accusing Zach Bryan of begging UFC fighter David Onama to mention his name during a post-fight interview at UFC 309 because the country singer’s ex-girlfriend Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia was in attendance.
Portnoy claimed it was advertised ahead of time that LaPaglia would be attending UFC 309 in New York City and he believes Bryan capitalized on this information amid their turbulent breakup.
Before concluding his post-fight interview, Onama took a moment to mention that he was looking forward to returning to New York next month to attend a Zach Bryan concert.
The shoutout seemed disingenuous, as evidenced by Onama briefly struggling to remember Bryan's name. Onama later shared the backstory on SiriusXM's Fight Night, revealing that his manager had instructed him to give a shoutout to Bryan.
Onama also admitted he did not know who Zach Bryan is. When asked if the mention was a "promo" or "paid advertisement," the UFC fighter appeared to confirm that theory, saying, "Yup, exactly. That's literally what it was."
Portnoy seems certain that Bryan is behind everything, calling him a "fucking psychopath."
Onama tried to clarify the matter earlier today, explaining that his team was offered tickets to Bryan's show by a promoter in exchange for mentioning his name.
"I did it because my teammates love Zach and Zach has always taken care of them when he played in Denver," he wrote. "Zach did not reach out to me at all about this. Was simply supporting someone who always supported my team."
LaPaglia has been opening up about her relationship with Bryan on the Barstool Sports podcast BFFs, which she co-hosts with Portnoy and Josh Richards. The 25-year-old claims she was offered $12 million by the singer’s team to sign an NDA following their split, but turned it down.
"It came down to the point of I'm not the people before, and I was someone before you, and you made the women before me believe that they had no other choice than to take money from you, sign their experiences away, sign what they went through away," she said.
LaPaglia alleges she was "blindsided" by Bryan announcing their breakup on Instagram Stories in October.
