Despite this report, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has not been sold to for billions. That’s according to company executives higher-ups, who recently threatened legal action to all nosy media who suggested otherwise. However, if and when the sale does happen, one of the stipulations reportedly states that company president Dana White will remain on and continue with his current duties.
Randy Couture, however, doesn’t think keeping White in that role is such a hot idea, telling ESPN 1100 (via MMA Fighting) that Dana needs to go if the new owners want to correct the image problem UFC is currently experiencing.
“I hear the company that bought it is keeping him on as the president. If the UFC has a problem right now as a brand, it’s an image problem. How they act and how they treat the fighters and the things that they do with their fighters that are in their stable and lot of that trickles down from him — his attitude. His attitude when he does interviews. His attitude when he deals with the media. His attitude when he deals with his fighters. So I don’t understand. If I bought the company and wanted to change that or take it to the next level, I’m thinking you need a change of face, you need a change of image. You address the class action lawsuit and all the other stuff that’s gone on in the tenure that they’ve been in charge. Now you’ve [become mainstream]. You’ve kicked down the doors. You’re on Fox television. You’re in all these countries. You’re everywhere. Where aren’t you? So do you need to keep kicking down doors and keep maintaining that particular attitude? I have no idea what that contract looks like and why, but maybe the new owners need need to get in, get the lay of the land, and figure out what’s going on. They need somebody to show them the ropes. But, are those really the ropes you want to be shown? Some of those ropes are pretty sour in my mind.”
White has an attitude? No way!
Of course, getting rid of White will be easier said than done, as many have credited UFC’s success to his aggressive and unfiltered style when it comes to promoting fights and the company as a whole. But, it’s no surprise to hear “The Natural” wanting a fresh face, as the his relationship with his former boss turned sour over the years.
Anyone (dis) agree with Couture on this one?