Sometimes all it takes is one conversation for cooler heads to prevail. Just two days after UFC president Dana White revealed that featherweight champion Jose Aldo was resistant to meet Anthony Pettis for his next title defense, a deal has been struck….
Sometimes all it takes is one conversation for cooler heads to prevail.
Just two days after UFC president Dana White revealed that featherweight champion Jose Aldo was resistant to meet Anthony Pettis for his next title defense, a deal has been struck.
On Monday during a MetroPCS chat with fans, some technical difficulties took down the broadcast, so White took advantage of the downtime and spoke to Aldo’s coach and manager Andre Pederneiras.
It obviously didn’t take long because just a few moments later the chat was back up and White had good news about the title fight August 3 .
“I just got off the phone with Andre Pederneiras and the Aldo fight is on, so it’s done,” White revealed. “The fight’s done, Pettis vs. Aldo in August; that was quick.”
Aldo and his management team had strongly disagreed with the UFC matching him up against Pettis, saying he didn’t deserve the shot at the title.
Needless to say, White was none too pleased at that stance and planned on having another conversation with his featherweight champion on Monday.
One call and one talk is all it took, and now Aldo is back on board to face Pettis for the UFC featherweight title on August 3 at an event that has yet to be named, as well as the location where it will take place.
Pettis was given the shot at Aldo after sending a text message to UFC president Dana White just moments after the champion defeated Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 156.
Already atop the lightweight division’s contender race, Pettis decided to seize the opportunity and offer to drop down to 145 pounds and fight Aldo.
The UFC jumped at making the fight, and two days later they announced Aldo vs. Pettis for August 3. For whatever reason, Aldo decided against the fight after the initial announcement, but now the two fighters are back on the same page and will meet later this year with the featherweight title on the line.
A new added wrinkle to the fight includes not only a title up for grabs at 145 pounds but quite possibly the next contender at 155 pounds. UFC president Dana White confirmed that if Aldo gets past Pettis, he will be able to move to lightweight and face the champion there as well
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Joe Rogan is known for not only being the color commentator voice for UFC broadcasts, but he also hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”Late last week with the UFC in Anaheim, just minutes away from Rogan’s stu…
Joe Rogan is known for not only being the color commentator voice for UFC broadcasts, but he also hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Late last week with the UFC in Anaheim, just minutes away from Rogan‘s studio in Los Angeles, it was a perfect time for the comedian’s two worlds to collide when he welcomed UFC President Dana White.
White joined the podcast for over two hours, telling stories from the early days of when Zuffa purchased the UFC to the latest happenings in the sport going into last weekend’s UFC 157 card.
Here are the highlights from White’s appearance on the show and if you’d like to watch the show, tune in here.
Why Doesn’t the UFC Play “The Star-Spangled Banner” Before Fights?
When Dana White and the Fertitta brothers invested and purchased the UFC back in 2001, they put a lot of effort into re-launching the failing brand that found the sport of mixed martial arts banned in numerous states all over the country.
For UFC 33: Victory in Vegas, the promotion pulled out all the stops to put on a huge show to help bring the sport back into the spotlight.
They stacked the card with three title fights including Tito Ortiz, who had become the face of the UFC, as well as future champion and star Chuck Liddell who fought on the undercard that night.
What proceeded to happen was an epic failure for the event, with every fight on the televised card going to decision, which led to the show running over its allotted time on pay-per-view, so many fans missed out on even seeing the entire main event.
“Every fight sucked and then we went over on the pay-per-view. I’m a pretty upbeat person, I don’t get depressed. I was seriously thinking about f—king killing myself that night,” White said talking about UFC 33.
Like most major sporting events, the UFC kicked off the night by playing a rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Unfortunately after the event unfolded in disastrous fashion, White let superstition get the best of him and said never again after that night.
“We did it that night, and I completely f—king blame that. That’s why it happened because of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,'” White said with a laugh.
The Early Days of Big Fighter Entrances on the Ramp
If you watched any of the early Zuffa-era UFC events, one of the biggest differences between then and now were the splashy, loud entrances fighters used to have walking down a giant ramp way complete with big explosions and fiery pyrotechnics. The fighter walkouts were essentially something akin to a WWE show.
Eventually, the ramp went away and the fighters now do a more traditional walkout with their coaches and trainers down a tunnel leading out into the arena.
The reason why the UFC had the ramp in the first place may surprise you. It had nothing to do with putting on a grander show or making an impact when a fighter first appeared. Nope, it was only because they couldn’t fill the seats in the arena.
“Because we didn’t sell that many tickets back then,” White explained. “You could cut off a quarter of the building. That’s how you made the place look full back then.”
Another Reason the Ramp Had to Go
Making an arena look full was the reason the UFC had the ramp and the flashy entrances in the first place, and as ticket sales increased, the need for the space filler was no longer necessary.
It also doesn’t help when the pyrotechnics almost set your light heavyweight champion ablaze.
“We almost lit Tito (Ortiz) on fire in the Meadowlands,” said White.
Needless to say, over time, the ramp and the pyrotechnics were gone from UFC broadcasts forever.
Dana’s Ongoing Battle with Meniere’s Disease
UFC president Dana White has had a very public battle lately with his health after revealing that he suffered from the effects of Meniere’s disease.
The inner-ear disorder got so bad that White had to miss a UFC event for the first time ever in 2012 before finally having surgery to try to make it easier to deal with the crippling affliction. White even documented the surgery during one of his famous video blogs, taking fans inside the operating room while he went under the knife.
As White revealed when talking to Rogan, the bad news is the surgery (which he said before had only had a 70-percent success rate) failed and his attacks have gotten even worse lately.
“There’s no cure for it, but they have these real controversial surgeries that you can go in and do. I’m a f—king lunatic so I’m like I don’t give a sh-t, I’m getting this surgery. I just went in yesterday, this was my first follow-up and the f—king surgery was a complete disaster. That’s why I’ve been so f—ked up lately,” White stated.
According to the UFC president, the only other surgical option is to actually have the nerve in his ear severed and repaired, but that would result in him having to learn how to walk all over again. He’s already lost most of the hearing in his damaged ear, but right now he’s just trying to deal with the attacks day by day.
Anderson Silva‘s Retirement and a Dream Match with Jon Jones
There may not be a bigger fan of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva than his boss Dana White.
He speaks often about the incredible things that Silva does in the cage, and while they are still negotiating to re-sign the champ to a brand new 10-fight deal, at 37 years of age, he knows the champion’s days in the UFC are numbered.
“I dread the day that guy retires,” White said about Silva.
There has been non-stop talk about Silva being involved in some sort of UFC super fight in 2013, and the two biggest names for potential opponents are either UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre or light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
No deal is done or even close to being completed to make either fight a reality, but White seems to have a preference on which one he’d like to see.
“I have to make him and f—king (Jon) Jones happen,” White said about the potential super fight. “I have to make that happen. That’s the one fight (I have to make).”
The Party Life of Chuck Liddell
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was the most recognizable name in the sport of MMA for several years. His jaw-shattering knockouts were the stuff of highlight-reel legend, and he was by all accounts the face of the UFC for quite some time.
Eventually, however, time and fighting caught up with Liddell, and the former champion petered out at the tail end of his career, going 1-5 over his final six fights with the UFC.
Dana White was with Liddell every step of the way through his career because before he was the president of the promotion, he was Liddell‘s manager in the fight business.
As legendary as Liddell was at the time, White says his after-hours routine may have cost him a few additional fights or even wins.
“Partying kills fighters. I saw it happen to Chuck (Liddell),” White said. “The whole Chuck Liddell era, when Chuck beat Tito (Ortiz) that night it was crazy. After his fights, everybody wanted a piece of that guy, it was insane.”
White admits that he saw Liddell‘s night life get the best of him in a fight, however, especially at UFC 43 when he lost to fellow UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
“The night before he fought Couture, it’s like 2:30 in the morning at the Hard Rock and I’m walking through the Hard Rock and he’s f—king there at the Hard Rock. I go ‘what the f—k are you doing? Why are you here?’. It was just such a given that he was going to win this fight and then boom,” said White.
Liddell lost the fight to Couture by TKO in the third round the next night.
The Best of the Rest
Dana has become close friends with former boxing champion Mike Tyson over the years, and will actually be making a cameo appearance in his new reality show that begins filming in 2013.
It was revealed that FedorEmelianenko‘s manager and M-1 Global president VadimFinkelstein recently attended the UFC on Fuel 7 show in England. White said he had no idea he was there, and obviously he attended just as a fan.
When Chuck Liddell first signed with the UFC, he fought for $2000 to fight, and $2000 to win. (Liddell‘s final fight at UFC 115 paid him $500,000).
Dana White’s sons both play football, but he says with all of the injuries and damage football players go through in life, he’d rather they did mixed martial arts.
It’s a well known fact that Dana White is a regular in the Las Vegas gambling scene. Rogan asked the UFC President about his biggest loss in a single night and his answer: “A million bucks.” His biggest single-night win was $6 million.
Beyond being the head of the biggest MMA promotion in the world, White is a lifetime fan of boxing and has attended many major fight cards over the years. One interesting show that White attended happened in 1996, long before he was an owner of the UFC.
White was at the Mike Tyson/Bruce Seldon fight card in Las Vegas: the scene where hours later, rapper TupacShakur was gunned down and killed in his car. The mayhem that happened before, during and after the fight was something White couldn‘t even believe. As bad as the reports were about the insanity, White says it was much worse.
“They didn’t report how bad it really was,” said White. “People were f—king grabbing chips off the table, people were jumping on top of the tables. People were just going f—king crazy.”
To check out Dana White’s entire appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, check out the link here or to listen go to Rogan‘s website for a listing of his podcast.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report
When the UFC released 18 fighters last week with names like former welterweight title contender Jon Fitch on the list, the message was clear to all of the competitors currently under contract to the promotion. There is no tomorrow, only today. With the…
When the UFC released 18 fighters last week with names like former welterweight title contender Jon Fitch on the list, the message was clear to all of the competitors currently under contract to the promotion.
There is no tomorrow, only today.
With the influx of numerous Strikeforce fighters including an entire women’s division, plus 14 competitors from this season of the Ultimate Fighter who were all promised at least one more shot in the Octagon, UFC President Dana White said that their roster was bloated by more than 100 fighters under contract.
That means at the drop of a dime, a bad loss or just a poor performance and a fighter could be sent packing from the UFC.
Just days after the cuts were made, UFC 157 took place in Anaheim, Calif., and while there were plenty of fighters who didn’t have to worry one ounce about their job being safe or not, there were a few certainly sitting on the bubble hoping it didn’t pop.
Brendan Schaub headed into the weekend for his fight against Lavar Johnson coming off of two straight knockout losses. The former Ultimate Fighter finalist happens to be a heavyweight, one of the UFC’s shallowest weight classes, but still a third loss would have been devastating and almost certainly going down by knockout would have found him waking up on the unemployment line.
So Schaub did what he had to do to get a win by any means necessary.
Time and time again, Schaub took Johnson to the ground and while he did aggressively look for a submission finish in the first round, the rest of the fight looked like a carbon copy of the initial five minutes—Schaub with the takedown and Johnson struggling to do anything from the bottom.
The crowd in Anaheim booed relentlessly, and Schaub was panned by just about everybody on Twitter for playing it safe and grinding out a three round decision, instead of giving the fans a show on Saturday night.
“I had to win tonight,” Schaub said after the fight. “The last two fights I lost, I fought with my guts rather than my brains but tonight I needed to win this—so I used my brain. I know people were expecting a slugfest—but I’ve been working hard on my BJJ and thought I could sub him.”
During the fight, Schaub and Johnson could be seen talking to one another and after it was over, the former NFL practice squad player revealed their conversation backing up his desperate need for a victory.
“At one point he was talking to me on the ground saying “Come on, dog, let’s stand and give the fans a show” and I said “Sorry, bro, I gotta win this fight” and he said “I hear ya”,” Schaub stated.
There may not be a clearer case of the message being sent and received by a fighter in the UFC than what Schaub said in those two quotes. He didn’t want to win—he had to win—and that made all the difference in his performance.
White didn’t praise Schaub’s strategy in the fight, but he also understood why the fight went down the way it did.
“Not the fight I expected, but Schaub’s been knocked out a couple of times too and he was in there with a big puncher. He ain’t going to run in there with his chin out,” White stated after the conclusion of UFC 157. “I guarantee that was their game plan going in. Let’s take this guy down, I’m sure they hoped they’d do more damage on the ground than they did, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Prior to Schaub’s “win at all costs” performance, two featherweights battled it out on the same FX preliminary show with former Ultimate Fighter finalist Dennis Bermudez, defeating Matt Grice in a wild, three-round slugfest.
Bermudez and Grice battered each other back and forth for 15 full minutes, and the third round saw as much heart and determination as any fighter has shown in UFC history. Bermudez attacked once he saw an opening after tagging Grice with a good punch and proceeded to blast away at his opponent’s head trying to get the finish.
Grice refused to go down, and with everything he had left he fought back winging punch after punch, trying to back Bermudez off. When the final horn sounded, Bermudez and Grice were both exhausted, but had nothing to be ashamed of after leaving it all in the cage that night.
Bermeduz walked out the winner, but following the event Dana White assured Matt Grice that his performance did not only win him a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, it will absolutely keep him in the UFC for another fight.
“When these guys came back after that fight, obviously (Matt Grice) was really upset, I said that’s one of those fights that there’s no loser,” White explained at the UFC 157 post fight press conference. “There is no loser in that fight. When you turn on your TV set, or you put down your money, or you buy a ticket—that’s what you expect to show up and see! As a fight fan, those are the kinds of fights you want to watch. Those are the kind of fights guys won’t get cut. It’s pretty simple.”
Since the night ended, Grice has received continuous praise from fans and media alike for his gutsy performance while Schaub has had to listen to unrelenting criticism for “playing it safe.”
The UFC job market is a tough place right now, and both Schaub and Grice understood that going into the night. The sad truth is both did exactly what they needed to do to make sure they’d be back in the Octagon again.
The cost of doing that?
Well for Schaub it means likely being relegated to a preliminary fight for his next bout because the UFC rarely rewards a fighter who grinds out a three round decision for his following trip to the cage. The win guaranteed Schuab will be back, but does it actually put him on a shorter leash now to perform big in his next fight?
Matt Grice had to sacrifice his body to make sure he’d be back again in the UFC, and that’s obviously no small price to pay. Grice is now 1-2 in his last three fights in the UFC, and another loss would be devastating if he wants to stick around any longer than that.
Both Schaub and Grice live to fight another day, and that’s all any UFC fighter can ask for right now. There is no way to plan for two fights down the road, or a five fight master plan—it’s about right now, this moment and nothing else.
If they don’t perform today, they won’t be around tomorrow, and that performance to get a call back from matchmaker Joe Silva can come in many different ways. Brendan Schaub and Matt Grice are shining examples of that philosophy.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
For the second time in less than a year, Lyoto Machida has earned a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title and a potential rematch with Jon Jones. Machida defeated Dan Henderson on Saturday night at UFC 157 to pick up his second win in a row, putting …
For the second time in less than a year, LyotoMachida has earned a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title and a potential rematch with Jon Jones.
Machida defeated Dan Henderson on Saturday night at UFC 157 to pick up his second win in a row, putting himself into position to face the winner of the upcoming bout between Jones and former middleweight contender ChaelSonnen, who meet at UFC 159 in April.
The win on Saturday put Machida back in line for the shot after he earned a crack at the belt last August with a win over Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 4. Following that win, Machida was declared the No. 1 contender, but when he turned down a chance to fight Jones on three weeks notice he was put back in line and had to fight Henderson.
While the fight itself wasn’t one that will go down in history as an all-time great, Machida still got the win and UFC President Dana White assures he will get the next shot at the 205-pound title.
“He just beat the No. 1 contender, which would make him the No. 1 contender,” White said during the UFC 157 post fight press conference. “It wasn’t a barnburner, it wasn’t the most exciting fight you’ve ever seen. You won’t be writing stories about this fight till the end of time, but Lyoto won the fight. He beat the No. 1 contender. He beat Dan Henderson.”
Prior to the fight, Machida, who weighed in at 202 pounds (three pounds under the 205-pound limit), had teased that he might be considering a move down to middleweight.
With the win over Henderson and the potential to avenge his 2011 loss to Jones at UFC 140, Machida is staying put at light heavyweight now that he’s getting a title shot.
“Now with this opportunity, I want to stay at 205. I want to fight for the belt,” said Machida.
The game for Machida now is waiting for the fight between Jones and Sonnen to play out in April at UFC 159. At that point, he can begin preparing for an eventual showdown with the winner and his shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Damon Martin is featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
It’s been more than three years since Gina Carano last stepped foot in an MMA cage, but still a day rarely goes by in women’s mixed martial arts without her name being uttered. For years, Carano was the face of women’s mixed martial arts, combining her…
It’s been more than three years since Gina Carano last stepped foot in an MMA cage, but still a day rarely goes by in women’s mixed martial arts without her name being uttered.
For years, Carano was the face of women’s mixed martial arts, combining her devastating skills inside the cage with an undeniable appeal outside of it, and literally became one of the most well known names in the entire sport.
While Carano has always had fighting in her blood, she couldn’t deny the call she got from Hollywood that wanted to put her in movies instead of in the cage. From her role in the action film Haywire, to her upcoming feature as a member of the cast of the Fast and the Furious 6, Carano has been keeping plenty busy with jobs that have little to do with MMA.
That’s not to say she still doesn’t follow the sport, as indicated by her Twitter message directed at UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, her opponent Liz Carmouche and UFC President Dana White on Saturday before the start of UFC 157.
Carano‘s shadow looms large over women’s MMA, and her iconic part in bringing the sport to where it is will never be forgotten; but unless something dramatic changes, her fighting days are likely behind her. Still, Carano refuses to completely shut that door, always hinting in interviews that maybe one day she could return to MMA.
“Gina’s a movie star. Gina’s out making movies. I actually liked that she made it and she went on to do movies and other things, I like that. I like to see that happen,” said Dana White when speaking to reporters after UFC 157 ended about the former Strikeforce fighter.
Carano has already signed on to play the lead in a script being developed as an all-female version of the popular action series The Expendables, which will likely begin filming later this year. She’s also recently been attached to Henry Cavill, the actor who plays Superman in the new Man of Steel film being released later this year.
While her return to fighting is highly unlikely, White would happily have Carano in the UFC despite the fact that she doesn’t compete at 135 pounds (the only weight class they currently have for women in the UFC).
“If Gina came back and said she wanted to fight again, we’d take her back,” said White. “I’m not going to pursue her, I’m happy for her. She hasn’t told me, but I’ve heard that she’s said she would be interested in coming back, but I’m not going to push her. But if she wants to come back, I wouldn’t say no either.”
In all likelihood, Carano will continue to be a supporter of the fighters still competing in MMA while she pursues her new life as a successful actress in Hollywood.
Carano will next be seen in a feature film titled, In the Blood, before hitting the big time with her role in the new Fast and the Furious 6 movie debuting on Memorial Day.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo isn’t nearly as excited about facing lightweight contender Anthony Pettis as everyone assumed he would be a few weeks ago. Earlier this month on the heels of Jose Aldo defeating Frankie Edgar to retain his UFC feath…
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo isn’t nearly as excited about facing lightweight contender Anthony Pettis as everyone assumed he would be a few weeks ago.
Earlier this month on the heels of Jose Aldo defeating Frankie Edgar to retain his UFC featherweight title, UFC President Dana White revealed that he received a very interesting text message from Anthony Pettis just moments after the fights ended.
Pettis asked to face Aldo next, which meant a move down to 145 pounds despite having already earned the next shot at the lightweight title with his blistering performance over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC on Fox 6 in late January.
Literally just two days later, the UFC made the fight official for August 3 with Anthony Pettis getting the shot at Jose Aldo.
Unfortunately, it appears Aldo isn’t in a giving mood because he’s refused to face Pettis since the fight was proposed to him by UFC officials earlier this month.
“Jose Aldo came out and said ‘There’s no way in hell I’m fighting Pettis,” White revealed when speaking to reporters following the UFC 157 post fight press conference. “He’s absolutely refusing to fight Pettis. Doesn’t think he deserves the shot.”
According to White, he and fellow UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta met with Aldo’s coach and manager Andre Pederneiras while in England at UFC on Fuel 7 last week, and they were admittedly shocked with what they heard.
“Andre Pederneiras was in England and sat down with me and Lorenzo and was like ‘we don’t think he deserves it,'” White stated. “I said ‘What do you mean, you don’t think he deserves it?’ I said ‘Are you out of your f–king mind? Are you serious, did you seriously just ask that question?’ It’s like if Aldo wanted to move up to 155, are we going to say he’s not the No. 1 contender? What are you talking about? Listen, I wouldn’t want to fight Pettis either.”
Needless to say, White and Fertitta were none too pleased with the reaction the got from Aldo’s camp regarding the fight.
What is even more puzzling is the fact that Aldo just fought Frankie Edgar, who had never fought at 145 pounds and was actually coming into their fight off of two straight losses. Something apparently changed however, when the name switched to Anthony Pettis, and Team Aldo wants nothing to do with the fight.
Despite their objections, White is more than confident the fight will come together because Aldo and his team won’t like what happens next, otherwise.
“That fight’s on,” White reiterated. “He’s going to fight Pettis or he’s not going to like how this is going to turn out.”
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Sometimes all it takes is one conversation for cooler heads to prevail.