Dana White is hopping mad at Roy Nelson and promises fireworks between them as "TUF 10" progresses.
At a gathering of reporters Thursday following the UFC 104 press conference, White fired back at allegations Nelson made of favoritism towards Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, whom Nelson defeated in the quarterfinals of the show.
In an interview with USA Today following Episode 3 of the show, Nelson said concessions were made with Slice that no other fighter received.
"Kimbo's the only one that I know that had an entourage there; he actually had his family there, his management, while the rest of us kind of had to suffer," said Nelson. "The UFC made, we'll say, different concessions for Kimbo. I think he had a media room."
Meanwhile, Nelson pointed the finger at White, whom he publicly called a "puppet master."
"He's on the show saying we did that show for Spike after, where he's saying Kimbo's list, anything Kimbo put down, he got in minutes," said White on Thursday. "We'd write it down, we wouldn't get it for two days. What a bunch of crybabies. Let me tell you what: not only did Kimbo not get any special treatment on the show... the only difference between Kimbo and all the other guys was that if Kimbo made it into the UFC, he had a bigger contract than the other guys. That's it. I said that the day we did media day before the show even started. It kills me."
White went off on allegations that Kimbo got special communication privileges, particularly, the use of a phone during the show.
"Roy Nelson is a moron," said White. "He's an idiot. The guy really is that dumb. Never once did this guy use the phone to call anybody, and you'll actually see later on as the show progresses, there's a situation that happens where I have to get on the phone, and then I put (Kimbo) on the phone. He didn't get any special privileges, and even if he did, I'D (EXPLETIVE) TELL YOU! You're damn right, we gave special privileges, we pulled seven million viewers with him. If he wants to use the phone, he can use the (expletive) phone. He didn't. We didn't give him any special privileges. Roy Nelson is a moron. Interview him sometime, you'll find out."
Nelson was unavailable for comment on White's remarks.
LOS ANGELES -- UFC president Dana White doesn't buy Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's claims he was poorly edited on "TUF 10."
Posting on his personal blog last week, Jackson decried the show's portrayal of him and his team as they dealt with a disastrous showing in team competition.
"They edited the show to make me look like I didn't care about my team, but as you can clearly see I was coaching against a T.U.F. show champion and he came from the Ultimate Fighter so he knows how to play the camera and be fake," wrote Jackson.
Evans, the opposing coach on the show and TUF champion in question, has led his team to a complete shutout of Team Jackson, and has not been shy about gloating to "Rampage."
At a gathering of reporters following the press conference for UFC 104, White, in so many words, told Jackson to suck it up.
"When you don't look good on the show--editing, editing!" White said. "It is what it is. There's no way to edit. We don't dub him. We don't voice him over. People don't like the way they look sometimes on the show. I've been not crazy about the way I look on the show sometimes. It happens."
White and Jackson have hit the skids following Jackson's decision to portray B.A. Baracus on the upcoming movie remake of "The A-Team." Weeks after Jackson's announcement he would retire from fighting, the two are still on the outs, though White said he wished Jackson luck if he truly wanted to pursue acting.
However, when asked Thursday if he would meet with Jackson to smooth the situation over, White said, "if he wants to meet, he can come down here and meet with me. I'm not going to chase him."
UFC president Dana White's video blog return continues with the second episode of his UFC 104 video blog. Surprise appearances by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and actor/comedian David Spade.
The following is a blog post taken from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's personal blog addressing the fallout over his decision to retire from fighting:
"Make no mistake the UFC treated me a lot better than Pride. If you get hurt in training in a UFC fight then will send you to the best doctors. If you get hurt in a Pride fight most of the time they will tell me "oh you better take care of that!" The UFC will always let you know in a timely matter who you will be fighting & give you enough time to train but with Pride if I knew 4 weeks ahead I would be happy cause most times they just give you a 2 weeks notice. Pride will rip you off on your merchandising but the UFC would find someway to hook you up on merchandising deals. Pride will make fights easier for certain fighters inside the ring (like standing up fights early). With the UFC whatever happens happens. The only thing I see the UFC needs to fix in this area is to get better judges. Ones who know about MMA & not from the boxing world.
"The reason why I'm talking about all this is that I feel like this whole situation could have been avoided if UFC would have respected me more & rescheduled the fight about a month or more in my hometown, which I know fights can be rescheduled because of the Matt Hughes & Matt Serra was postponed due to injuries. Instead, Dana went on the internet & started talking bad about my decision. All we had to do was come to a certain type of argreement or understanding, which later came after a lot of trash talk from Dana. My manager flew to Vegas & talked to them & tried to work things out like a MAN. & still I keep quite & I didn't talk trash back on the internet. The only reason why I'm even talking now is because I feel like I owe my fans an explanation because I am a MAN, a real MAN. Yeah I made good money with the UFC more than Pride, but I made both shows more money than they made me. I didn't care too much about Pride treating me like crap cause I was an American in a Japanese company. Now in my own country, I feel like I'm being disrepected. Everything is not about how much money you make. You could be the richest man in the world but if nobody repsects you then it don't mean shit. You can't buy respect. It should be earned. & thats what I'm all about.
"Now Rashad wanna put his two cents in. Rashad remains to be a boy under me. He wins a few fights, and some of them I thought the judges fell asleep during the fight & woke up & saw him playing with his nipples & guessed he won. He knocked Chuck Liddel out when Chuck wasn't even the same man anymore. & now he thinks he's on my level. Yeah he talks about how he beat Forrest & I lost. But when I fought Forrest that was the worst Rampage I had ever seen. & I still know in my heart I won that fight. So now he's Mr. All Cocky & says I got a big mouth & talk a lot of smack. If my memory serves me correctly, he's the one that got into my face after the Jardine fight & started talking trash when he was the one that was originally supposed to fight me that night, but he told Dana on the phone he didn't want to fight. He wanted to keep his belt longer. Now, I'm not saying wether or not I would have beaten Machida, but I wouldn't have went out like a bitch like the way he did. So I'm the one that was looking forward to the Rashad fight the most. I have always been a fighter my whole life. As a kid my family treated me like shit which made me the person who I am today. This is why when I meet people I treat people the way I want to be treated (unless they approach me wrong or piss me off). I grew up thinking that I wasn't even important to my family which made me not even care about myself. That's why I can get knee-ed in the face 15 times & come back for more. That's why I can get my legs seriously hurt in a fight & still try to win. Thats why I can get my ribs broken in a fight & not tap out because my whole life I never thought I mattered to anybody or anybody cared about me. But now I have kids that love me & care about me & I'm not used to people caring about me but it feels good! I'm a very loyal person. Wolves are the most loyal animals on the planet. I was very loyal to the UFC, but now I owe all my loyalty to my kids... the ones who really care for me. The majority of my fights on the street I fought for free & they all were with emotion. I am a fighter, I will always be a fighter but my professional fights that were fought with emotion, I ended them all in devestating fashion. I am the wrong fighter that should fight pissed off professionally. I don't even consider it fair. So Rashad says he will fight me for free. I will gladly meet him at any gym & fight him just to shut his mouth up. & I mean that for real!
"When I told Dana I did not want my belt back & that I just wanted to make money, it was around the time when they gave me Vanderlei & actually it was around the same time when my mind wasn't right (my mind was at TRUCK status) & that's the way I felt because I felt I had been robbed out of my belt. After the Jardine fight I did want my belt back because my family was so proud of me when I was champion & I want to make my family proud cause now I finally feel like my family cares about me & they accept me & this is what I've been wanting my whole childhood... for my family to like me. If I got to beat some ass for my family to like me, so be it. But now, I'm a grown man & I'll be damned if anybody disrespects me. I'm not having it, it's not happening!"
UFC president Dana White was on the Dave and Mahoney Radio Show on Tuesday talking about how upset he is with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson ditching a fight with Rashad Evans to portray "Mr. T" in a Hollywood remake of the 1980s TV hit "The A-Team."
Oh yeah, he updated everybody on his company too.
(Thanks to Cagewriter.com for turning us on to this interview.)
If he had any, Dana White would probably be pulling his hair out.
A little over a week after the UFC president railed at former light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson's desire to play B.A. Baracus in an upcoming remake of "The A Team," a report from The Sun states that Jackson has indeed landed the role, nixing an MTV report that called the UK tabloid "lying liars" and said Jackson was not cast as the latter day Mr. T.
Adding gasoline to the fire is the report's claim that Jackson has passed on a fight with Rashad Evans at 107 in his hometown of Memphis because filming won't give him time for a proper training camp. The rival coaches of TUF 10 were supposed to squash their bad blood at the Dec. 12 event.
Jervis Cole, Evans' manager, had no comment about the rumored change.
The change scratches half the Southern card's star power, with a lightweight match-up between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez now the front runner to headline. A heavyweight match-up between Frank Mir and Cheik Kongo has also been rumored for the main card.
To put it mildly, UFC president Dana White is not a fan of his fighters doing movies. That is, if the movies get in the way of the UFC calendar.
"I hate it with a (expletive) passion," he said. "You're a fighter. You're not a movie star. It's so (expletive) funny because fighters want to be movie stars and movie stars want to act like they're fighters. It's like, get a grip. You're a (expletive) fighter and you're a movie star."
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson made headlines Wednesday when a report in UK tabloid The Sun said the former light heavyweight champion was set to take on the role of "B.A. Baracus" in an upcoming movie remake of television series "The A-Team."
A subsequent report from MTV.com Thursday morning disputed the report, citing Jackson's managers, who said Jackson had not booked the role.
White had not heard the latest reports when he spoke to reporters at the UFC 102 pre-fight press conference in Portland, Ore., Thursday afternoon, but he didn't like the idea of Jackson's silver screen dreams, mildly put.
"Rampage wants to be a movie star," continued White. "I hope it’s not true (about Jackson getting the role). He's up for it, and he talked to me, he wants to do this thing, and he's like, 'listen, man, this is really important to me...there's some sentimental value here for me, me and my Dad grew up watching The A-Team together and we loved it.'
"Well, guess what, brother? I said, 'guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now. He's thinking about beating your (expletive) ass. He's not sitting around thinking about him and his mom used to watch the (expletive) 'Love Boat' together, and he wants to get the role of 'Isaac the Bartender'...you know what I mean? Get a (expletive) grip, dude. You're going to make a lot of money. You ain't gonna make a lot of money playing B.A. Baracus on the A-Team. Jesus Christ. (Expletive) drives me (expletive) nuts."
White said sometime actor and five-time UFC champ Randy Couture was an exception.
"Randy did it right," said White. "Randy shot a movie and it didn’t interfere with his training or anything."
Heath Herring recently told MMA Insider that he was putting off fighting until 2010 to pursue several film projects. Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le is currently MIA with several studio projects in the can and more in the pipeline. Chuck Liddell is about to dance with the stars.
According to White, a fighter who fulfills his contract obligations is free to act. That, or a retired fighter. But act on the eve of a fight? Not cool.
"(Rashad) hates (Rampage)," White said. "He hates Rampage more than he hates anyone on the planet and he’s thinking about killing him."
White sat back in his chair with a sigh.
"You guys wouldn't want to be me if you're if your life depended on it."
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first foray into Philadelphia was nothing short of a rousing success. Two of the promotion's top stars got back on track, B.J. Penn defending his UFC lightweight belt from Kenny Florian, and Anderson Silva laying further claim to the mythical pound-for-pound title with a first-round knockout of Forrest Griffin.
All this before a stellar crowd.
The early return numbers -- as announced by UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference -- put total attendance at 17,411 for a Pennsylvania record gate of $3.55 million.
"(We've) never had a night where the first prelim of the night there were over 11,000 people there," commented White. "Halfway through the prelims there were 16,500 people, and then over 17,000... it was 17,411, $3.55 million gate. The biggest in the history of Pennsylvania."
Now on to the pay-per-view numbers... isn't there some sort of crazy stunt -- like White's commitment to base-jumping off of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas -- that we can get him to commit too in Philly if UFC 101 tops UFC 100 in PPV buys?
Savvy east coast fight fans were not shy about broaching tough subjects to UFC president Dana White during a UFC Fight Club Q & A session Friday. They grilled him on Brock Lesnar's behavior, the recent rift with Strikeforce, the breakup of Pride, and a network TV deal.
They also asked about mending fences with old enemies. For anyone not named Strikeforce, White has been in the make-up mood lately, burying the hatchet with Tito Ortiz.
A fan asked if Josh Barnett or Frank Shamrock--two guys not on White's Christmas card list--would get the same treatment.
"Josh Barnett's gonna be a tough one," White said with a laugh, no doubt thinking about the heap of trouble the former UFC champion caused due to his third positive test for steroids.
For Shamrock, who didn't make the UFC's top 100 fights of all time list (White said fans didn't vote him in), he was a little more positive.
"Made up with Tito? Maybe I can make up with Frank."
Shamrock was not available for comment, as he was fending off the advances of pundits who felt MMA should be buried under a rock and forgotten.
New Twitter devotee Rich Franklin relayed a curious thing Saturday morning: his re-match with Dan Henderson had been taken off the event description for UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas.
"Ive heard the ufc pulled my fight off the website for 103," tweeted Franklin. "I don't kno y. They hvnt spoken to me @ this, n i assume the fight is still on."
Grammar issues aside, the message seemed to be a red flag--the UFC was backing away from the match-up, which had drawn almost unanimous criticism from fans on internet sounding boards.
During a Friday radio appearance on ESPN 1100 for The Caring Place cancer support center, UFC president Dana White hinted there were more changes in store for the Dallas event.
"My job is to put on fights that the fans want to see," he chortled. "Hang, tight, stick around. Stay tuned."
Two things could lend credence to a new main event for UFC 103: White's make-up with Tito Ortiz, which he announced via a tweet on Friday, and the dearth of talent influx from Affliction's collapse the same day.
Is Franklin/Hendo II on ice? And is that a good thing?
Ever since UFC president Dana White and his business partners, the Fertitta brothers, purchased Pride and subsequently closed its doors, the scorn has rained down on them. The MMA hardcores have been particularly forgiving.
"Our goal was to keep Pride alive and running (in Japan)," relayed White as part of a fundraising radio-thon on ESPN 1100 radio in Las Vegas on Friday. The event was held to raise funds for The Caring Place cancer support center.
"I’ve talked about the corruption over there and, basically, the mafia over there is keeping us out of Japan," he explained. "It’s a whole 'nother world over there. It’s a tough place to navigate.
"We’re gonna get to Japan. We just did another television deal over there and we’re gonna figure it out."
Zuffa -- the UFC's parent company -- has kept the brand on life support, even featuring it as part of the UFC Fan Expo that was a large part of the promotion's recent UFC 100 weekend.
But despite their commitment, it hasn't been easy.
"It’s rough though, its’ rough doing business over there," said the brash leader of the UFC.
Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on Tuesday released the "provisional" numbers for the live gate and closed circuit revenue generated by UFC 100 last Saturday, July 11.
The promotion's centennial event sold 9,793 tickets with 1,078 issued as "comps" for $5,128,490 in revenue. Closed circuit broadcasts at the Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand hotels sold 6,256 tickets with 575 issued as "comps" for $312,800 in revenue.
As it stands, UFC 100 is Nevada's second highest grossing MMA show, and with preliminary PPV buyrate estimates of over one million, the card may go down as the most lucrative endeavor in the company's history.
At the pre-fight press conference for 100, president Dana White promised to base jump off the Mandalay Bay if PPV buyrates hit 1.5 million.
Steve Cofield and the boys at ESPN 1100 once again get UFC president Dana White to rail on Fedor Emelianenko and Affliction, but at least this time they use a new tact and bait Dana into an argument over whether or not Fedor is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.
An obvious ploy to get Dana's blood pressure to rise... but, hey, it worked...
Hell may be freezing over, because Pat Miletich and Dana White may make nice very soon.
Miletich recently told MMAInsider that he's working with White to arrange a meeting between them in the coming weeks.
The famed trainer and UFC head honcho have been on the outs for years after a litany of slights, real and perceived, between them over the course of eight years in the industry.
Miletich reportedly washed his hands of White in 2006 after being promised a coaching spot on the third season of "The Ultimate Fighter," only to see Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock take the job.
But time heals wounds, and a lot of time heals really bad wounds. Things may be turning around.
"I think we've both decided that it's better that we're not at each others throats," said Miletich. "We're both stubborn, and that's our problem."
Miletich's stable of active UFC fighters has dwindled over the years, as the originals of Miletich Fighting Systems have moved on to other camps or started their own. Recently, Miletich let go of one the last current UFC fighters in his stable, Drew McFedries, who was booted over comments he made at the post-fight press conference for UFC 98.
Could the meeting be a precursor to seeing more Miletich fighters in the Octagon? Could Miletich himself be vying for another "TUF" spot, or better yet, a fight of his own? Will the meeting degrade into shouting?
ESPN Radio 1100 to Host 4th Annual "Longest Radio Show Ever" Benefiting The Caring Place
UFC President Dana White to be honored as Sportsman of The Year 2009
For the fourth year in a row, ESPN Radio 1100 will host "The Longest Radio Show Ever" to benefit The Caring Place, a non-profit facility that provides services, free of charge, for the mind, body and spirit of those touched by cancer. The 24-hour radio show, at the Key West Room in The Palms Casino Resort, will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 24 and conclude at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 25.
National and local celebrities in the sports and entertainment industry are donating their time to the cause and will host each hour of the 24-hour radiothon. ESPN Radio 1100 listeners and others around the country have the chance to co-host an hour of their choice, by submitting their bid in the online auction. Bids can be placed by visiting WeAreLV.com and clicking on the ESPN Radio 1100 logo. The online auction will run from Thursday, July 9 to Friday, July 17.
Confirmed celebrities include several UFC fighters, among them are Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Amir Sadollah, Brandon Vera, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Matt Serra, Octagon Girl Arianny and honoree Dana White.
Additional co-hosts include UNLV Basketball Coach Lon Kruger, former UNLV Basketball Coach Charlie Spoonhour, UNLV Head Football Coach Mike Sanford. A complete listing of the celebrities and the hour they are tied to is available at WeAreLV.com so fans can bid to co-host with that chosen celebrity.
On Friday, July 24, when the radio show is taking place, a cocktail reception will be held from 7-9 pm, at The Key West Room at the Palms Casino Resort honoring UFC President Dana White as ESPN Radio 1100's Sportsman of The Year. Guests will have an opportunity to meet with Dana and other top celebrities participating in the 24-hour radio broadcast. Tickets to the reception are $50 per person and can be purchased by calling The Caring Place at 702.871.7333. Previous Sportsman of The Year honorees have been Joe and Gavin Maloof, UNLV Basketball Coach Lon Kruger and Boxing Promoter Bob Arum. For additional information, go to WeAreLV.com.
Dana White's UFC 100 video blog from fight night. Part 2 starts off with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Sugar" Rashad Evans nearly going to blows at Octagonside. Royce Gracie and Lorenzo Fertitta stepped in to keep the two apart!
The second part of UFC president Dana White's UFC 100 video blog, showing the big fireworks display in Vegas, and the behind the scenes as the countdown to UFC 100 gets into full swing.
Dana White presents the first part of his video blog leading into UFC 100. In this episode, Dana and Lorenzo have fun in the new UFC offices, while testing out the controls with the sound system.
ESPN 1100's Steve Cofield talks with UFC president Dana White about a number of subjects, but notably about the "he is, he isn't" situation around Chuck Liddell retiring from mixed martial arts, the Cro Cop situation, Roger Huerta's return, and Vitor Belfort's prospects in the UFC.
Liddell has been mum on the retirement talk, but the UFC has said they will induct someone into the Hall of Fame at UFC 100. Are they just waiting for the Hall of Fame ceremony to make a dual announcement out of Chuck's retirement and then subsequent induction into the Hall of Fame or are they inducting someone else entirely?
Vitor Belfort is currently under contract with Affliction Entertainment, scheduled to compete on the promotion's third effort, Trilogy, on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. He will face current Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago on the pay-per-view portion of the fight card.
But could he end up back in his old stomping grounds, the UFC... facing current UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, no less?
Stranger things have happened.
UFC president Dana White on Saturday night -- during The Ultimate Fighter Finale telecast -- more than alluded to the possibility of a return of "The Phenom."
"I know (Anderson) wants to stay at 185 pounds. So, while he's fighting Forrest (at 205 pounds in August), I'm working right now on some other 185-pounders," stated the UFC big-wig.
And just who might he be working on... well, he at least has his eyes on?
"Vitor Belfort. Vitor is a former heavyweight, moved down to 205, now at 185. He's got great hands, great on the ground. If his head is right, he's a dangerous, dangerous guy. I think that'd be a great match-up," said White.
Would it be no surprise that he might want Belfort back, especially after he destroyed Matt Lindland -- a fighter that White isn't exactly fond of -- at Affliction's sophomore effort in January?
And more than that, could Belfort actually be "the bad match-up" for Silva? Could he be the one to dethrone the king?
Despite coaching a second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Quinton "Rampage" Jackson admitted he doesn't watch the show.
"I can never catch it cause it comes on at ten o'clock at night," he told reporters at a media day for the tenth season of TUF. "Either I'm in bed, because I've gotta get up early the next morning, or I'm out doing other stuff. I never even got a chance to watch my season."
Of course, his schedule wasn't the only reason he didn't tune in.
"I have a short attention span... I don't think I could just sit there and watch a bunch of dudes on TV," he continued. "There's gotta be some girls and stuff. I love 'The Ultimate Fighter' and sports, but I just couldn't do it."
The show is now in its third week of filming, and UFC president Dana White said the first day of filming has set the bar high for drama.
If that's true, or if TUF gives more time to ring card girls Edith and Arianny, Jackson may rethink his policy.
UFC president Dana White's latest WEC 41 video blog with guest appearances that include legendary boxing broadcaster Al Bernstein and TUF 10 coach Rashad Evans.
UFC president Dana White's second installment of his WEC 41 video blog. Includes Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, and others leading up to the rematch between current WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown and former champ Urijah Faber.
The Carmichael Dave Show talks with UFC president Dana White about bringing Kimbo Slice on for The Ultimate Fighter: The Heavyweights and what it took to secure him for the show. You might be surprised!
(Courtesy of Steve Cofield of ESPN Radio 1100 and Cagewriter.com)
UFC president Dana White's first time doing a WEC video blog. Includes a teaser about a "big deal" in L.A. that could change the UFC and MMA forever, plus a little bonus interview with Kimbo Slice as he heads into The Ultimate Fighter taping.
Although Lyoto Machida's official website indicates his next fight being September 2009 with a photo of Quinton Jackson below that notice, UFC president Dana White says that he is not slated for the UFC 103 fight card expected for September.
"Not true," said White when asked if Machida was scheduled to fight at UFC 103.
"He will fight. We're working on it right now. As soon as it's signed, I'll announce it... which I'm hoping will be (Thursday or Friday)."
With White posting a photo on his Twitter account of himself meeting with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on Tuesday, and Thursday's announcement of Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans coaching on TUF 10 and fighting in December, current speculation is pointing at a bout between Shogun and Machida. Such a bout would likely take place late this summer or early fall.
But again, at this point, that is purely speculation at this point.
Jimmy Fallon, the gangly host of a his self-titled late-night show on NBC, received some boxing lessons from UFC president Dana White on Tuesday.
White made the appearance as part of a media blitz for the UFC's new video game, "Undisputed," which hit stores the same day.
After a brief history of modern MMA time, White helped Fallon strap on gloves and throw punches (and a few roundhouses) at the UFC branded bag.
Audience members, perhaps not accustomed to the sight of two men grappling, tittered at a video clip of a sample game between UFC 98 main eventers Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.
Fallon, looking incongruous in a dapper suit and boxing gloves, first gave himself the nickname, "The Gentleman," before White dubbed him "Slim Jim" Fallon.
While Fallon touted his reach, he wouldn't be fighting any time soon.
UFC president Dana White, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, and No. 1 lightweight contender Kenny Florian, were guests for a brief spot on Friday's episode of Dr. Phil.
The major theme of the show was the dangerous things that teenagers are involved in these days. The segment with the UFC centered around kids who think they're going to get into the fight game by participating in their own backyard fight clubs, video recording them, and loading them up on YouTube.
The trio of White, Griffin, and Florian quickly shot down any ideas that the youngsters may have had about getting into the cage via the backyard. Even Dr. Phil pointed out that the fighters that compete at the level of the UFC are "highly trained athletes."
It was all of about a five-minute segment on the 1-hour show, but as the sport grows in popularity, it's a good, if not small, step in clearing up the misgivings of just what type of fighter is able to compete at the professional level of mixed martial arts.
MMA Live recaps all the news of the week, including Tom Atencio war of words with Dana White, Chuck Liddell's uncertain future, a highlight reel KO at Bellator, and much more. Also, interviews with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans and UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn.
Deadspin and Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertham, author of Blood In The Cage, discuss why the UFC should dump company president Dana White. (Courtesy of CageWriter.com)
The 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway is the fastest racetrack in the world and the president of the fastest growing sport's biggest promotion, Dana White, and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell will be attending this weekend's Aaron's 499 at the storied Alabama landmark.
Mixed martial arts and NASCAR both rose from grass roots backgrounds into mainstream sports with effective marketing and a bit of luck. Their histories are extremely similar. It was the now famous The Ultimate Fighter season one finale featuring the epic bout between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin that launched mixed martial arts into mainstream, and while NASCAR is about racing, it's rise to greatness also began with a fight.
While much of the country was inundated with winter weather and the blizzard of 1978-79, people were glued to their television sets in mid-February of 1979, and what they saw was a final lap wreck in the Daytona 500 when leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison bounced off one another on the backstreatch that led to a fist fight between Yarborough and the Allison brothers, Donnie and Bobby. The interest in NASCAR dramatically increased as a result.
The NASCAR and mixed martial arts demographics are very similar, dominated by the 18-35 male. And while White and Liddell aren't likely to see a fight – although anything is possible – they will witness four-wide racing at speeds close to 200 miles per hour.
It will be White's and Liddell's first time attending a NASCAR event.
With the May 19 release of the totally revamped UFC video game, UFC 2009 Undisputed, right around the corner, G4's X-Play spoke with UFC president Dana White and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre about the game.
"X-Play" and G4TV.com talks with UFC president Dana White and UFC Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre about the new MMA video game, UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED. "X-Play" will also have new game footage from the title.
Plus tune in to find out what it takes to get a job creating games, as "X-Play" profiles the audio designer behind UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED’s awesome sound. Catch all this and much more on "X-PLAY," Thursday, April 23 at 6:30PM ET/PT with a repeat at 8:00PM ET/PT.
For a while, it looked like the UFC might not be headed to the Bell Centre in Montreal for UFC 97. The Canada-based Sportsnet reported that rule changes instituted by the Quebec Athletic Commission were at strict odds with the Unified Rules employed by the promotion, and with no compromise forthcoming, things appeared grim.
But in a rebuttal that's become a recent theme, UFC president Dana White said the media got it wrong, again.
UFC officials, including Lorenzo Ferttita, White, and Marc Ratner, flew to Montreal in mid-February to speak with the QAC, and according to White, there was no reason for alarm.
"The entire thing was blown out of proportion," White said at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 97 at the Bell Centre. "The fight was never in jeopardy, never in danger. There was a new commission, and we needed to come up here and talk to them and sit down--we hadn't done that yet. Soon as we did it it was fine.
"We love Canada, we love Montreal. Other than UFC 100, this is the fastest sell-out. The difference is there's 12,000 seats in Mandalay Bay, and there's 22,000 seats here. Believe me, we love Montreal. We're not going anywhere."
UFC President Dana White is still feeling the heat from his recent video blog controversy where he drew an irate response for his comments that offended many homosexuals and women.
The derogatory remarks used in his rant about a Sherdog.com article by Loretta Hunt have TSN (Canada's version of ESPN) Off The Record host Michael Landsberg putting White's feet to the fire about whether he went too far in his blog, if and/or why managers are denied credentials, his thoughts on the media and more.
In a cone of silence (Dana White did not utter a word in this, his return, blog) this could be the funniest Dana White video blog ever. It's sure to go down as a classic.
MMAInsider recently spoke with Matt Lindland, who will attend his second screening of "Fighting Politics" at the Las Vegas International Film Festival on Friday, April 10. The MMA veteran spoke about the film, his career, and Dana White.
MMAInsider: It would seem like Las Vegas would be a good location for a screening given all the fighters in town.
Lindland: I don't know. The film crowd is a different crowd than the fight crowd. I don't know what to expect. The last screening there was a few fighter and wrestling types there, but mostly it was film people. It's an art film. It's not about fighting necessarily. It's not like watching a fight film or fight tapes, it's a piece of art. I don't know how many fighter types are in to the art scene.
MMAInsider: Are you pleased with the film?
Lindland: Yeah, I think Dave (Vahey) did a phenomenal job with it. It's a really good story and I think a lot of people would be surprised about what it is, because I think there's a lot of misconceptions out there about what the film's about. I think the title and trailer really threw a lot of people off.
MMAInsider: Is that to say that the implied conflict between you and Dana White in the trailer is not what the film's about?
Lindland: I think it's more about just the reality of this sport. I think it does a great job of showing what a wonderful job Dana and the UFC have done at promoting and marketing their sport. I think Dana White would like the film. It shows what a powerful person he is in this industry. He seems a little egocentric to me--I think he would enjoy this film. He knows the film's out. I think even Dana's got a misconception about it. But I think the only reason he wouldn't like it is because he doesn't control it. He didn't produce it, he didn't have his hand in it, and anything MMA that Dana isn't in charge of, he's not a fan of. I think the sport's big enough now--thanks to Dana and the UFC--that there's enough room for everybody in the sport. I've always said what a good job Dana has done. I can't criticize his business, and if he wants me to fight for them or not, that's up to him. I've always said, 'I'm here if you want me.' I want to fight whoever the biggest prize is. I'm a prizefighter. It's kind of like a whore. We're in it to get paid.
MMAInsider: Do you understand his position more because you're a business owner?
Lindland: I understand his position. If he wanted the best athletes at the time, I was one of the top athletes and I wasn't fighting there. But I think what he meant was he wanted the best guys he thinks he can market. And that was the truth. He didn't think he could market me. If he could sell Rich Franklin, I guarantee he could sell me. I don't know why it was Rich Franklin. Rich Franklin's a good fighter, but I don't know what's so marketable about Rich.
MMAInsider: Well, there's been a lot of talk about submissions on the decrese, wrestlers becoming strikers, that the shape of the industry has changed from the need to be exciting.
Lindland: Yeah, it is an entertainment business. I don't think it was that I was an unexciting fighter. You look at my finish ratio, I either TKO'd guys, or submitted them. But it does happen. But it was a misconception that I always went to decision. I don't know where that came from.
MMAInsider: Do you think Dana will be there at the screening?
Lindland: I would love it if he would be there. It would be a great honor to have him as my guest.
There were two fights at UFC 96 on Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio, that took to extremes two of the most debated issues in refereeing in mixed martial arts: stopping fights too early and stopping fights too late.
The night's opening bout -- between Shane Nelson and Aaron Riley -- was widely believed to have been stopped well before it should have. Riley was knocked down, but was already back into the fight before the referee stepped in.
In the case of Pete Sell and Matt Brown, the referee stepped in to stop the fight, appeared to have a change of heart once the fighters were already separated and stopping action, then inexplicably restarted the fight. What followed was what made it a much harder situation to swallow. Sell was clearly in another dimension for most of the rest of the fight, being battered around the cage, with Brown practically begging Yves Lavigne to stop the fight before he finally called a halt to the brutality.
"You've heard me so many times, especially in the last few weeks – wait until The Ultimate Fighter comes out – talking about reffing and judging; it's one of the hardest things in this sport right now. It drives me crazy," said UFC president Dana White at the UFC 96 post-fight press conference.
"Yves Lavigne is usually a very good referee. I hurt my arm tonight, beating on the Octagon screaming to stop that fight. I've never done that in eight years. I don't even know what to say."
There are definitely good referee's in this sport, but White pointed out a difference between those at the top, and those that just aren't quite getting it done.
"I think when they see a guy make a mistake, that it was a brutal mistake, like in the (Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley) fight, it messes with their head. And they think, 'I don't want to do that.' I think these guys just need to be confident and go in and make decisions. Stop the fight. If that's your decision, let them boo you. Who cares? You're the boss," he said, citing the lack of decision making among many officials.
He went on. "There's nobody, I shouldn't say nobody. There's a couple of guys out there that are real good. There's a whole bunch of guys that aren't.
"Yves Lavigne usually does a good job. The fight tonight was horrible. I think Herb Dean is great. Mario Yamasaki is good."
There's no easy way to say it: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira got his ass kicked by Frank Mir.
The 32-year-old Brazilian did not look like the fighter that, save for one Russian, lorded over one of the best collections of heavyweight talent in history at Pride Fighting Championships, nor the man who came from behind to win the UFC interim heavyweight championship last year. He looked sluggish, out of step, and sadly, old.
But there was a reason for it, says UFC president Dana White.
White maintains the former champ was suffering from a serious case of staph infection going into the Dec. 27 bout.
"I think Nog had staph real bad like six days before that fight," White told reporters on Thursday.
Though he didn't have blood tests to prove his theory, his eyes gave him all the evidence he needed.
"He had these things all over his body," continued White. "I can't explain what they looked like."
Since the fight, Nogueira has remained silent on the circumstances leading up to the fight. Last month, he underwent knee surgery to repair an injury that also hampered his preparation for Mir, according to trainers.
Last week, Nogueira accepted his first bout since the loss, a meeting with former heavyweight champ Randy Couture at UFC 101 in August. Sources say he will do most of his preparation for the fight in Los Angeles.
Following the pre-fight press conference for this weekend's UFC 95 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, UFC President Dana White answered questions for members of the media.
In recent days, White has voiced his disapproval on main eventer Keith Jardine's stance that friend, training partner, and light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was off limits if he won on Saturday.
From the sound of it, though, White believed Jardine had a good chance of putting him in an awkward position.
"Jardine is a tough, durable guy," he said. "He's very unorthodox, and his style is pretty much the style that Forrest beat Rampage with. He's very good a kicks to the legs and kicks to the body.
"Chuck Liddell is one of my friends. For twelve or thirteen years I've been to fights with him all over the world. I've never seen his body look like it looked after the Keith Jardine fight. I don't think you guys saw it because he was back int he locker room. His whole body from under his arm pit to below the legs, he was covered in bruises. Jardine can kick and Rampage is susceptible to the leg kick and body kick."
In an earlier conference call for the fight, Jackson bristled at those who thought the same fate would befall him.
"I'm really glad that people think that I have a low kick defense, because I used to be a kick boxer so that's how I trained in boxing," he said. "And I didn't work on my kickboxing anymore. So now we're just working on everything. I'm kind of happy if you think I have a low kick defense problem."
White said Jardine's style made him impossible to count out. Going back to their first meeting at the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he expected big things out of the Albuquerque resident. And interestingly enough, it wasn't Jardine's kicks that drew attention.
"I knew coming into the fight that he was a tough guy," said White. "I had heard a lot of buzz about him before he even came in. What I had heard a lot about was his wrestling, his ground game. Obviously he's been working on his stand up. He's really an unorthodox fighter - the way he punches and kicks, the way he moves - He's a tough guy to fight. That's why I think for bookies to make him a 3 to 1 dog, he's a live dog. That's a good bet.
On Saturday, fans will see how many bruises Jackson walks away with, and, if White has a future as a bookie.
The latest edition of Dana White's UFC 96 video blog includes a look at the UFC 99 press conference in Germany along with Dana and Lorezno Fertitta spending time with Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, and more.
Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press recently spoke with Dana White, who pulled no punches about how he feels about Georges St. Pierre's cornerman, Phil Nurse, and his alleged illegal application of Vaseline in St. Pierre's fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 94.
Fedor Emelianenko confirmed that he will indeed fight on the next Affliction show, although he couldn't name his opponent yet, according to a recent interview on DreamFighters.com. Affliction VP Tom Atencio has long stated that the plan is to pit Fedor against Josh Barnett, but Vitor Belfort is another name that has been tossed around recently.
Perhaps the bigger news though is that Fedor is hopeful to meet face to face with UFC president Dana White this summer with hopes of a bout against Brock Lesnar becoming the fruit of their talks.
"Yes, I will fight again on the next affliction card. Besides this me and my management hope to get a chance to talk to Dana White in person in June to discuss a possible fight between me and Brock," said Fedor in the DreamFighters interview.
Such an outcome has many hurdles before it. Firstly, Lesnar and Frank Mir are expected to meet before June to unify the UFC heavyweight championship. The outcome of that bout could have a big influence on any possible match-ups.
Aside from that, there is the matter that Fedor is under an exclusive contract to Affliction and M-1 Global. The folks that head M-1 Global also handle management duties for the Russian fighter.
A one-off deal or co-promotion is not something that the UFC has even remotely considered to this point, which is a major hurdle for both sides.
“The fact of the matter is that a loan-out is something that the UFC would not desire, they would never go for such a deal,” M-1 Global Chief Operating Officer Joost Raimond told MMAWeekly.com last October. “And secondly, the way we have our program set up for the next years, and our event schedules set up, it's just not feasible to have a Fedor fight within the UFC.”
The UFC-Fedor soap opera has been a long and winding road, but it looks like there are still a few twists and turns left before we find out what the destination is.
Amidst a firestorm of controversy surrounding the Quebec Athletic Commissions change in philosophy over enforcing its own rules that govern mixed martial arts, UFC president Dana White spoke with CKAC Sports 730AM in Montreal about the possibility that UFC 97, scheduled for Montreal in April, could wind up not happening in the city.
He insisted that they are trying to work things out with the athletic commission there, believing that his promotion would have a projected $12 million impact on Montreal.
White said that one of the UFC's owners, Lorenzo Fertitta, is headed to Canada later this week to meet with officials in an attempt to iron out the situation.
"I don't think it's something that we can't work out... and get this thing fixed so that we can continuously come to Montreal to hold events," he told the show's host. "I can't see (UFC 97) not coming there."
There are always a number of stars that come out for any UFC event, but tonight in Las Vegas the royalty of Japanese mixed martial arts has come out to see Georges St. Pierre battle B.J. Penn.
Former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi, prized bantamweight and featherweight fighter, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Olympic Gold medalist Satoshi Ishii, and Caol Uno are all in attendance at UFC 94 to see the action at tonight's show.
UFC President Dana White has made it no secret that he wouldn't mind landing any or all of the above competitors. White has also mentioned top rated middleweight competitor, Yoshohiro Akiyama, as a fighter the promotion would like to add as well.
"Kid" Yamamoto was seen several times this week in Dana's blog, and the top ranked Japanese fighter stopped for a photo opportunity in the Octagon with the president.
UFC president Dana White presents the latest edition of his video blog. In this episode, Dana takes you to the UFC 94 press conference, and then heads back to the office to do a little personal "remodeling" of his very own.
"Yeah, I think if Quinton beats Jardine, he'll get the next shot at the title," said UFC president Dana White following Wednesday's UFC 94 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas.
And that is regardless of the outcome of a key battle at UFC 94. Lyoto Machida, the No. 4 ranked light heavyweight fighter in the world, and No. 10 ranked Thiago Silva are slated for a showdown in the top undercard fight at UFC 94. Both have been on a tear through the 205-pound division and both are undefeated.
But while the winner of Machida vs. Silva is likely to narrow the field of contenders to the title currently held by "Sugar" Rashad Evans, it appears that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson -- with a win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96 on March 7 -- will jump to the head of the line.
White has stated in the past that Jackson vs. Evans might have already been on tap, but Evans was not fully recovered yet from his title victory over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, so they put Jackson and Jardine together for the Columbus fight card.
UFC President Dana White presents the third episode of his UFC 94 blog. In this edition, Dana heads to CNBC to talk about the new UFC branded gyms and much, much more.
UFC President Dana White presents the 2nd episode of his UFC 94 video blog. In this episode, Dana takes you behind the scenes for some early footage from the 9th season of the "Ultimate Fighter" and then takes you to New York, where another epic race breaks out.
Dana White kicks off his UFC 94 video blog on Monday with a special guest appearance by pro skateboarder Mike V. and then takes off to the WEC event in San Diego to get GSP vs. B.J. Penn picks from the likes of Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Jens Pulver, Matt Hume, WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, Urijah Faber, Robbie Lawler, Caol Uno, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, and WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown.
Of particular interest was the presence of Kid Yamamoto at the WEC. During his blog, White asked Yamamoto if he was ready to come fight (in the WEC) and Yamamoto replied, "Yeah." White immediately replied, "We want you here."
Of course, that is far and away from being a done deal by any means, but it's sure to stoke the rumors of Kid Yamamoto coming to the WEC, especially with the on and off reports of him fighting soon in Japan.
Marshall Zelaznik, president of the UFC's UK division, sees a bright future for the promotion in Ireland.
At the post-fight press conference for UFC 93, he outlined the possibility of a return to the country on one of its holiest of days.
"Lorenzo and I were speaking, and one thing we'd love to figure out is how to get here every St. Patrick’s Day," he said. "We’d like to figure out, no matter what day of the week it is, to try and come over with a fight. That's something we’re looking to do right away."
He also noted, however, that the promotion's frantic international schedule was a barrier to a quick return.
"It's hard, we’re trying to do so many things with this sport," he continued. "It's not just promoting the UFC; I always say we’re promoting a sport. In order to get as many people to experience it, you’ve gotta take the event out, and I see so many reporters (asking) when are you gonna come back to Newcastle, when are you coming back to Birmingham, and we're trying to get everywhere. Eventually, we'll be everywhere all the time."
Still, the fervor of Saturday's crowd was hard to ignore. Before he made a quick exit from the press conference, UFC President Dana White said the passion of Irish fans put them in the top-three of best crowds the promotion has played to.
With that, Zelaznik said a presence wasn't hard to justify.
"I think that we'll have a regular home here, would be my guess," he said.
UFC president Dana White presents the latest edition of his UFC 93 video blog. In this episode, Dana plays the new UFC video game against Michael Bisping, and much, much more.
In the Jan. 16 edition of Dana White's UFC 93 video blog, Dana takes viewers behind the scenes to the UFC 93 weigh-ins and the fighter meeting in Dublin, Ireland.
The latest edition of Dana White's UFC 93 blog as he travels around Ireland, talks to boxers about the sport of MMA, and replays the events of the race that kicked off the first blog in this series, and some shifty business going on with the bet payoff.
In the third episode of his UFC 93 video blog, Dana goes for a workout and tries to figure out how much weight he's got on the barbell - in kilos, hangs out with Marcus Davis, takes a behind the scenes look at the arena, meets up with Chris Lytle, Rich Franklin, and more.
Dana White's UFC 93 video blog continues with more from The Ultimate Fighter 9 at the Wolfslair, plus talks with Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson prior to their UFC 93 fight this weekend, TUF 9 coach Michael Bisping, and more.
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