Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce
As much as UFC president Dana White and the UFC have done to help build the credibility of MMA around the world, White is also one of major the obstacles keeping the sport from being legalized in New York, according to Frank Shamrock.
“The face of our sport is Dana White and out here in conservative New York, the way people think, bald-headed, tattoo’d, swearing people are just not a good representative of our brand and unfortunately people think that Dana White speaks for MMA, and they’re confused,” Shamrock said Monday on The MMA Hour. “They don’t know he speaks for the UFC. They think he speaks for the entire sport and [they think] the entire sport is made up of Dana Whites.
“… I don’t think it’s all on him,” Shamrock elaborated. “But we’re entering a new era of social media and Dana is a very outspoken figure in every way, mostly with the f-bomb and all that. I’m a martial artist. To me, the art is the most important thing. I don’t get the same thing from Dana, that’s all.”
There’s a certain lifestyle and character of a martial artist and Shamrock says he wouldn’t categorize White as such.
“I don’t believe that Dana White is a martial artist,” Shamrock said, never shy to dispense UFC criticism. “I don’t see a martial way that he is following.”