Dana White Talks UFC 144, Japanese Fighters, The Return Of Nate Marquardt To Zuffa

UFC president Dana White talks about bringing the UFC back to Japan for the first time under the Zuffa banner, “selling out” the Saitama Super Arena with 20,000 seats sold, the Japanese heavy card, the return of Nate Marquardt to Zuffa plus more.

“Right when (Marquardt) was first exiled, or kicked out of the UFC, whatever you want to call it, cut from the UFC, MC Hammer is in his team. He called me up and asked me if we could meet in [Los Angeles], so I met him there, we had dinner. He was lobbying to get Marquardt back in and I said, ‘Ya know, I love you man, but he’s gotta get out there and fight in other shows.’ He opted to not fight in any other shows. He wanted to sit out and he wanted to be back in the UFC. So we talked, we’re putting him back in Strikeforce and we’ll see what happens. I like Nate Marquardt, he’s a really good guy. But professionally, he needs to get his shit together. He needs to come into Strikeforce and he needs to make weight, he needs to pass all the tests and do all the other shit, so we’ll see how it goes.”

HT: MMAMania.com for the transcription

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UFC president Dana White talks about bringing the UFC back to Japan for the first time under the Zuffa banner, “selling out” the Saitama Super Arena with 20,000 seats sold, the Japanese heavy card, the return of Nate Marquardt to Zuffa plus more.

“Right when (Marquardt) was first exiled, or kicked out of the UFC, whatever you want to call it, cut from the UFC, MC Hammer is in his team. He called me up and asked me if we could meet in [Los Angeles], so I met him there, we had dinner. He was lobbying to get Marquardt back in and I said, ‘Ya know, I love you man, but he’s gotta get out there and fight in other shows.’ He opted to not fight in any other shows. He wanted to sit out and he wanted to be back in the UFC. So we talked, we’re putting him back in Strikeforce and we’ll see what happens. I like Nate Marquardt, he’s a really good guy. But professionally, he needs to get his shit together. He needs to come into Strikeforce and he needs to make weight, he needs to pass all the tests and do all the other shit, so we’ll see how it goes.”

HT: MMAMania.com for the transcription