The comments by Matt Riddle on Dana White may have been cruel, but that won’t do anything to affect the popularity of the UFC.
Riddle, the former UFC star, was recently fired from the UFC after a second failed drug test for marijuana. In an interview with Stephanie Joplin Sports, Riddle called White a “bald juice monkey”. He went on to say:
“I really don’t have a reaction to it because, to be honest, Dana White…it’s sad but he’s uneducated to the sport and the industry. He’s calling me a moron for using my medicine when half his fighters are on steroids. It’s pretty offensive, but at the same time, I am looking at the source, and he can’t help himself.”
He goes on, “Even now, I don’t have a dislike for Dana White or the UFC. But really, he’s just a juice monkey who’s bald, who doesn’t know sh** about business. He just yells the F word and expects things to be handed to him.”
“What should I do?” He asks me. “Should I get angry? Find out where Dana’s house is in Vegas? Ask him why the f**k did you fire me? Dana White should be thankful I am on medication!”
As far as the comments go, this won’t change anything. The UFC is still one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and issues over failed drug tests won’t garner any protests in a sport that involves people punching each other repeatedly in the face.
While a drug test for marijuana, regardless of whether or not it is prescribed, is a bit controversial, the popularity of the sport will not be hindered by an unhappy fighter. In fact, the UFC broke a network record earlier in March. Fans were able to watch Wanderlei Silva fight Brian Stann for free on March 2nd on FUEL TV, and people tuned in. According to MMAMania.com, the fight broke the network ratings record for FUEL TV, with 485,000 people tuning in.
The previous record for the network? Only 217,000 in 2012
UFC 158: St. Pierre vs. Diaz recently had a big viewing as well on FX. According to Yahoo! Sports, the program brought in over 1.5 million viewers.
It seems that even with the drug testing that the UFC is still just as popular. The comments by Riddle are just comments by an upset fighter, and people will still be tuning in anyway.
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