Dana White Goes Insane

[Brill Weave]

UFC drops Fitch, AKA fighters - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

A bitterly angry Dana White said Wednesday the Ultimate Fighting Championship has cut highly regarded welterweight contender Jon Fitch and is not going to do business with any fighters who are part of the American Kickboxing Academy team in San Jose, Calif.

The outspoken UFC president said shortly after landing in Hawaii on Wednesday that he no longer wants to work with AKA fighters or those represented by DeWayne Zinkin and Bob Cook.

White said he excepted AKA welterweight Mike Swick from that group because he said Swick called him and told him he wants to fight for the UFC. But Fitch and heavyweight Christian Wellisch were cut on Wednesday, and heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez and welterweight Josh Koscheck could be next.

“We’re looking for guys who want to work with us and not against us, and frankly I’m just so [expletive] sick of this [expletive] it’s not even funny,” White said from Honolulu, where he flew Wednesday from Toronto to hold a news conference to announce the B.J. Penn-Georges St. Pierre fight for UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas.

“Affliction is still out there trying to build its company. Let [Fitch] go work with them. Let him see what he thinks of those [expletives]. [Expletive] him. These guys aren’t partners with us. [Expletive] them. All of them, every last [expletive] one of them.”

Fitch said Wednesday the dispute was over his reluctance to sign a lifetime contract to allow his name and likeness to be used in a video game the UFC is planning with THQ. He said the dispute has nothing to do with money and that he never caused a problem during his time in the UFC.

He said he simply didn’t understand the need to sign a lifetime contract, particularly since it would not pay his family in the event of his death.

“Working for free and selling our rights away for lifetime, that’s a little different,” said Fitch, who said he hasn’t spoken with White but plans to call him. “We tried to negotiate five- or 10-year deals with them, but it wasn’t good enough. It was all or nothing. He wanted our lifetime. He wanted our souls forever.”

White said the AKA fighters “aren’t partners with us” and said they don’t understand what the UFC is trying to do for the sport. White said the UFC’s current success was because of long hours he and partner Lorenzo Fertitta have put in trying to build the company and the sport of mixed martial arts.

White complained that he has to make frequent sacrifices in his personal life and is away from his family for long stretches because of his commitment to growing the UFC. He said the AKA fighters don’t understand the things UFC management is trying to do and said they’ll learn how tough things are in the poor economy.

“There are a lot of guys who help us and work with us and are great partners with us, and they’re the ones we’re going to remember and take care of,” White said. “Do these guys understand what is going on in this world? I’ll tell you, this economy is [expletive] up. It’s totally [expletive] up. It’s bad, real, real bad. The [television] networks are in trouble and don’t have money. The sponsors are in trouble, and they have no money. If they don’t have money, they go out of business.

“It’s a whole other world out there, believe me, and let these guys go out there and see what they find.”

White said he took great care of Fitch and said with bonuses and purse, Fitch made $169,000 for his welterweight title fight loss to St. Pierre at UFC 87 in Minneapolis in August. Fitch (17-3 with 1 no-contest) did not dispute that salary figure. He said the UFC “has taken care of me and you’ve never heard me complain about money. This is a respect thing.”

Fitch said he thought there should room to negotiate on these contracts but said the UFC would not budge.

He said he understood it was highly unlikely that another company would want to put him in a video game but said it was only reasonable that he not tie his rights up for life.

White said he flew to San Jose in the summer to talk with the AKA fighters, but Fitch said the discussion was about a merchandising agreement.

“He wanted us to sign that merchandising agreement, and it was not a very good agreement,” Fitch said. “There was not really a reason for us to sign it. The first thing they brought to us was for us to sign all of our rights away for everything forever. It was for very small compensation, and there was no compensation for family members if we were to die.

“We could die and they could make memorial figurines and stuff and make thousands, millions of dollars, and our families wouldn’t see a penny of it. The way they bring the contracts and stuff to us, I don’t know, it’s just not how business is done.”

Zinkin also represents UFC light heavyweight Chuck Liddell, though Liddell does not fight for AKA. White said he has been “beefing with Zinkin for years” and said he had to call Liddell, one of his closest friends, and tell him to get Zinkin to back off.

According to White, Liddell said Zinkin represented him on sponsorships and he would negotiate his own deals with the UFC.

Fitch said he has been a loyal UFC employee and said, “I’d only like a little bit of respect for the blood I shed for this company.”

White said he has sacrificed more than anyone to build the UFC into the powerhouse it has become and that he’s tired of athletes who don’t want to “get with the program.”

Velasquez, one of the sport’s rising stars, clearly is on the outs with White. White said Zinkin wanted standard language that is part of every UFC fighter’s contract removed from Velasquez’s deal.

“Can you believe that?” White said. “Chuck Liddell has that language in his contract. Randy Couture has it. Anderson Silva has it. And Cain [expletive] Velasquez, with two [expletive] fights, wants us to change it for him? That’s [expletive] nuts. He can get the [expletive] out.

“I’m not a douche bag and I do a lot for these guys, a lot more than any of you will ever know. We’re in a horrible time in the economy now, and every guy with two nickels to rub together is making a run at us. We’ve worked too hard, given too much, to let certain guys come in and [expletive] with that.”

Fitch said he’s not trying to mess with anything and that he simply wants to fight. He said he always has been respectful in all his dealings with the UFC and said he can’t understand the position he finds himself in without ever having spoken to White.

He plans to call White to discuss the situation but wasn’t sure what move to make.

“I’m more than willing to work with them, but I don’t see why we have to give up our whole lives for this,” Fitch said. “Why not a time limit? If we did a 10-year deal with them, is that that unreasonable? I don’t understand how this happened, honestly. It’s tough.”

Lifetime contracts is ludicrous. And to top it off he's not exactly tossing out trash. Jon Fitch is a damn good fighter. Same with Cain Velasquez. If he dumps Koscheck on top of it, that's just doing bad business because you have a personal problem with a non fighter. At least you know they will end up in Affliction.

[Kyo]

Yeah thats just stupid, I can understand where fitch is coming from.

[tyven]

how the F do you let go of a guy that went 5 rounds with GSP over something like this? jesus usually i love dana white but this absolutely boggles my mind. velasquez is my boy and the UFC needs all the heavyweights they can get, what a debacle.

[Brill Weave]

I actually don't like Dana White one bit. The guy is too much of an egomaniac. This is a perfect example of his ego getting in the way of the business. Because he feels he was insulted by their refusal of a lifetime contract, White has lowered the overall quality of the UFC with this boneheaded move.

[Dimmauk]

I think it was funny how Dana was talking about the economy, while wanting to get lifetime contracts on fighters so he can make money off of their likeness forever. If he really cared about them(the fighters) and the economy, then why toss out in entire stable of fighters?

Dana sounds like a fucking baby when he doesn't get his way. More and more fighters will be turned off from this, and then the UFC will be stuck with nothing but Ultimate Fighter Naabs.

This almost feels Vince McMahon fake wraslin drama.

[Mizango]

He tried pulling the "They have no idea how hard it is out here, im away from my family for long stretches Bawwwwwwwwwww" card.

I hate guilt trips.

[Thoronas]

More crazy from Dana White
Dana White speaks out about Jon Fitch’s release during emotional radio interview | Five Ounces of Pain

UFC President Dana White publicly addressed reports of the release of former welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch during an emotional radio interview Wednesday night with sports talk show host Carmichael Dave during “The Carmichael Dave” show on 1140 KHTK in Sacramento.

Within seconds of the interview’s commencement, a distressed White didn’t hold back his feelings on the situation.

“No, no, no. It has nothing to do with an agreement,” White corrected Carmichael when the host began to suggest Fitch was cut amidst reports he wouldn’t sign an agreement that would grant the UFC lifetime rights to his likeness for the purpose of making video games.

“It doesn’t have to do with Jon Fitch either,” continued White. “I like Jon Fitch. I’ve never had a bad word with Jon Fitch. The problem is with the idiots that run AKA. I won’t use any names; the idiots know who they are.”

But in expressing a big picture concern that extends beyond Fitch, White began to introduce the current state of the economy as a reason why he doesn’t understand why fighters are more agreeable to terms of deals that are being presented.

“The economy is changing by the second. Every day when you wake up tomorrow, bad things are happening,” he said. “Not just in the United States but all over the world. Television networks are in trouble. The sponsors who used to sponsor them are in trouble. Some of them are going out of business and the rest of them are cutting their sponsorships big time.

“Companies that have been around for hundred years are going out of business. It’s crazy. Banks are going under. And I’m in a situation now where I’ve got these guys — I’m trying to run a business — bro, I live on a plane 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s all I do is fly everywhere to try to build this company. And these guys think this thing is so big and these guys start negotiating all this stupid stuff like they’re Mel Gibson. No disrespect to Jon Fitch — I like Jon Fitch — (but) like we’re going to be doing the Jon Fitch swim line sometime soon? And then the clothing line.

“It’s insane. What I try to do — is we put together all of these things and we try to make everyone money. That’s the way that it works. But I’ve got these guys from AKA, these idiots, that don’t want to play. Listen, at the end of the day it’s not a big deal. The problem is because when something goes wrong in the UFC all the idiots from the media like to jump out and go, ‘Yeah, there’s something negative with the UFC. Let’s get out there and talk about it!’

“Listen, this is just like any other job. You don’t want to work for me? They’re plenty of other opportunities out there. The t-shirt guys are trying to start their own business. Get in business with them. Do it with somebody else. If you don’t want to be in business with me? Then you don’t have to be in business with me. It’s simple as that.”

Later in the interview, Carmichael then began to read a quote by Fitch from a Yahoo! Sports article written by Kevin Iole in which White issued a direct response.

“’I’m more than willing to work with them, but I don’t see why we have to give up our whole lives. Why not a time limit?,’” the host read before being cut off by White.

“What’s with this whole lives?,” White interjected. “Do you know how much Jon Fitch made for the Georges St. Pierre fight? Where the hell else could Jon Fitch go right now and make the money he made? He made $169,000 for that night for that fight. Where’s he going to make that kind of money in one night?”

White would continue with his passionate response but became so angry that the amount of expletives he used exceeded the station’s delay, prompting Carmichael to place the UFC president on hold until the delay could be restarted. When order was restored, White returned and apologized.

However, he wouldn’t remain calm for long as he once again started to verbally assail the media and the state of the economy.

“It’s like all the media wants to jump up and go ‘Oh the UFC! The UFC!” Shut up! Shut up. Every one of you shut your mouth. Mind your business. Here’s the deal: the reality is we’re working our asses off to make this thing bigger and better for everybody. The world is a very dangerous place right now with this economy.”

White also confirmed during the course of the interview that he had been contacted by Mike Swick and indicated that Swick had expressed a desire to handle business on his own and work something out with the UFC. In regards to other fighters affiliated with AKA such as Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez, White didn’t mention them by name but stated he had no desire to work with any fighters that are represented by the San Jose-based fight gym.

[Kyo]

Makes me want to not buy their game next year, which I fully intended to buy, doubt I will now.

[Olo401]

Dude sounds like he wants to be the white bald Don King.. fuck that shit.

[tyven]

sooooooo does this mean john fitch and jake shields both go to affliction, or will white try to bring shields in?

[Dimmauk]

He is acting very unprofessional, and is embarrassing the company.

[Stiker]

All I can say is WOW.

[Dimmauk]

WEC could always use more fighters.

[Dimmauk]

Dana is on a roll!! He is right on this one though.


Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:56 pm EST
UFC's White defends MMA, fires back at boxing promoter

By Kevin Iole

Todd duBoef, the president of the powerful boxing promotional company Top Rank, clearly does not understand mixed martial arts very well, as his recent comments in a Los Angeles Times article would indicate.

During a media day workout for Manny Pacquiao on Monday, duBoef questioned the safety of MMA based upon the finish of the Brock Lesnar-Randy Couture heavyweight title fight on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Lesnar knocked Couture down with a right to the back of the ear and then finished him with a series of blows on the ground.

That caused duBoef to question the widely held belief that MMA is a safer sport than boxing in an interview with the Times' Lance Pugmire.

"When I see stuff like that, it looks like nothing more than a Toughman contest," duBoef told Pugmire. "There's no way it's safer than boxing."

Au contraire, Mr. President.

The UFC was founded in 1993 and began the modern era of MMA. Since that time, there have been two deaths in MMA competition. Douglas Dedge died on March 18, 1998, from injuries sustained in a fight on an unregulated card in Kiev, Ukraine, two days earlier. And in 2007, Sam Vasquez died on Nov. 30, 2007, from injuries sustained in an Oct. 20 fight in Houston.

The Journal of Combative Sport has documented 71 deaths since 1993 in boxing, including several from shows that Top Rank promoted.

DuBoef's comments did not escape the notice of UFC president Dana White, who ripped him upon reading the Times story.

"What Todd duBoef said the other day in the L.A. Times, this is the same Todd duBoef who got the free tickets from me to be at that event that night," White said. "He said that the Randy Couture stoppage proves that boxing is much safer than MMA. [Top Rank chairman] Bob Arum is 95 years old and senile, when he says crazy [expletive] you know, it goes over your head because you expect it from him. Bob has been saying crazy [expletive] since Day 1. But Todd duBoef? What does Todd duBoef know about MMA?

"I have a study from Johns Hopkins that proves that MMA is safer than boxing. Todd duBoef ought to stick to what it is he knows, but I don't know what that is. He's Bob Arum's stepson and that's how he got that job at Top Rank. This is insane. Bob Arum's stepson commenting on MMA safety? He doesn't know what he is talking about. I don't know what he knows, but whatever it is, he ought to stick to that."

[noblemountain]

i'm honestly not that surprised at the deal they're pushing or the fact that people got cut over it. the deal they're pushing is the same shit that the WWE has used for years when it comes to video games. it's nothing new...just new to MMA. i would be very surprised if dana actually gave a shit about it one way or the other, he's just being pushed by the people at THQ to get it done because they're scared that EA's making a MMA game now.

dana has a very old school attitude in that if you disrespect him or act disrespectfully toward him, he will cut you out. period. i respect that. i am like that with people in my life as well. agents and managers and handlers that surround these fighters usually get their heads so far up their own asses that it's ridiculous. i hate the leeches and hangers on...they're the ones who're the problems. dana straight up said that he likes fitch, it's his agent that's the problem. you saw that swick made it a point to call dana and tell him where he wants to be. if fitch were smart, he'd have done the same thing. i bet money that vasquez and koscheck stay in the ufc as well. although if koscheck loses again...i don't know what they'd do with him honestly.

[Brill Weave]

dana has a very old school attitude in that if you disrespect him or act disrespectfully toward him, he will cut you out. period. i respect that.

I disagree completely. It's asinine and petty to hold fighters accountable to what management says and does to the point of releasing them from their contracts. Dana White sees disrespect as anyone not doing exactly as he says when he says it.

[Devolver]

dana has a very old school attitude in that if you disrespect him or act disrespectfully toward him, he will cut you out. period. i respect that.

Well, thats noble, but not really smart for business. You can't blame the guy for wanting to take care of his kids and his kids-kids. He is putting his physical being at risk every time he steps into the cage. Like something from the nfl (i understand its a much more established organization, i realize that) that take care of the player/family after a tragic injury.

So I am against Dana on this one. To not be able to even come to an agreement and the "Sign this or GTFO" mentality is going to bite him in his ass.

[Brill Weave]

Like something from the nfl (i understand its a much more established organization, i realize that) that take care of the player/family after a tragic injury.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the NFL catching a fuckload of heat for not supporting their former players when they had medical issues etc? It was really brought to light with the death of Mike Webster.

[Sythe]

Yeah i bet he doesn't like the athletes managers. Because the managers actually read shit and make sure their clients don't sign their entire lives away! That's gotta be the most insane shit ever and i hope more of them realize it and start thinking about the big picture and not just the few bucks their gonna make right now.

[Devolver]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the NFL catching a fuckload of heat for not supporting their former players when they had medical issues etc? It was really brought to light with the death of Mike Webster.

Oh I wasnt aware? Well if thats true.... foot, mouth, etc.