Dana White on Danier Cormier-Jon Jones brawl: ‘Our bad’

BANGOR, Maine – Though the fight has now been placed on the horizon for UFC 182 in January, the fallout of the UFC 178 press conference Daniel Cormier–Jon Jones brawl that took place Aug. 4 is still being looked at. Not only by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which has yet to dish out any disciplinary action, but also by the UFC,

And from the latter, there might not be much punishment forthcoming, because the UFC doesn’t blame the fighters so much as itself.

“You want to know what my personal opinion is?” Dana White said at the UFC Fight Night 47 post-fight scrum. “Our bad. It’s our bad. These are fighters. They are two of the baddest dudes in the world going face-to-face to stare it off, we have to make sure that doesn’t happen. It shouldn’t happen, and it shouldn’t have happened. But it did.”

White was vacationing in Bora Bora when the brawl occurred at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, thus leaving the Senior Director of Public Relations, Dave Sholler, as the mediator between the fighters. Since that time the brawl has blown the fight itself up to larger levels than before, it has raised a lot of discussion in the aftermath as to whether or not something like that is good for the sport. It’s a slippery slope, and White was asked if he worried some fighters might see it as an example to follow going forward in helping sell a fight.

To that, White said he doesn’t anticipate it becoming a trend.

“I don’t think that that was something that was thought about,” he said. “What happened was when Jones went in fast and hard, he headbutted him,” White said. “Listen, you’ve got two of the baddest dudes in the world going face-to-face. That’s why every time you do a stare-down, it’s always explosive and anything can happen. Two of my favorite things in this sport, the weigh-ins and the fight. At the weigh-ins, guys have been away from their families for eight weeks or longer. They’re cutting weight. The fight’s the next day, they’re nasty, they’re mean and they’re irritable. And it’s explosive and anything can happen. Then the day of the fight is the reason we all watch.

“Dave Sholler doesn’t have a lot of experience in stare-downs, you know? And that thing got a little crazy. This is the fight business, man. This isn’t ice-skating, it’s the fight business and anything can happen at any moment. No matter how educated the guys are, how great they are, everything is always explosive, man. Two of the baddest dudes get in each other’s face, you’ve got to be ready to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Cormier will challenge Jones for the light heavyweight title now at UFC 182 on January 3 in Las Vegas.

BANGOR, Maine – Though the fight has now been placed on the horizon for UFC 182 in January, the fallout of the UFC 178 press conference Daniel Cormier–Jon Jones brawl that took place Aug. 4 is still being looked at. Not only by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which has yet to dish out any disciplinary action, but also by the UFC,

And from the latter, there might not be much punishment forthcoming, because the UFC doesn’t blame the fighters so much as itself.

“You want to know what my personal opinion is?” Dana White said at the UFC Fight Night 47 post-fight scrum. “Our bad. It’s our bad. These are fighters. They are two of the baddest dudes in the world going face-to-face to stare it off, we have to make sure that doesn’t happen. It shouldn’t happen, and it shouldn’t have happened. But it did.”

White was vacationing in Bora Bora when the brawl occurred at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, thus leaving the Senior Director of Public Relations, Dave Sholler, as the mediator between the fighters. Since that time the brawl has blown the fight itself up to larger levels than before, it has raised a lot of discussion in the aftermath as to whether or not something like that is good for the sport. It’s a slippery slope, and White was asked if he worried some fighters might see it as an example to follow going forward in helping sell a fight.

To that, White said he doesn’t anticipate it becoming a trend.

“I don’t think that that was something that was thought about,” he said. “What happened was when Jones went in fast and hard, he headbutted him,” White said. “Listen, you’ve got two of the baddest dudes in the world going face-to-face. That’s why every time you do a stare-down, it’s always explosive and anything can happen. Two of my favorite things in this sport, the weigh-ins and the fight. At the weigh-ins, guys have been away from their families for eight weeks or longer. They’re cutting weight. The fight’s the next day, they’re nasty, they’re mean and they’re irritable. And it’s explosive and anything can happen. Then the day of the fight is the reason we all watch.

“Dave Sholler doesn’t have a lot of experience in stare-downs, you know? And that thing got a little crazy. This is the fight business, man. This isn’t ice-skating, it’s the fight business and anything can happen at any moment. No matter how educated the guys are, how great they are, everything is always explosive, man. Two of the baddest dudes get in each other’s face, you’ve got to be ready to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Cormier will challenge Jones for the light heavyweight title now at UFC 182 on January 3 in Las Vegas.