On tonight’s “UFC Tonight: Special Edition ‘Dana White One-on-One’,” FUEL TV presented an exclusive interview with UFC president Dana White.
Conducted by “UFC Tonight” Insider Ariel Helwani, White covered numerous hot topics.
UFC 151 Aftermath
White discussed the cancellation of UFC 151 in depth and says he has no regrets about the way the UFC handled the situation. He went on to detail how middleweight champion Anderson Silva offered to defend his title as a replacement main event, an offer White deemed unrealistic. “I would never call the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and say ‘Hey, let’s set up a title fight for you in eight days.’ And who’s really gonna fight Anderson on eight days’ notice, even if you know he hasn’t been training? Maybe Chael, that’s it,” said White.
White shared for the first time that he believes Dan Henderson is partially to blame for the fiasco. “Dan Henderson knew two weeks before he told me was injured, and had he given me that two weeks, like he should have, this fight might have happened,” said White. (See video.)
The UFC president also revealed that the fighters on UFC 151’s undercard were not left hanging financially. “Some of the guys are getting booked right away; the guys who are fighting later, we’re compensating them,” he confirmed. (Five UFC 151 fights have been rescheduled for UFC 152 on September 22 or UFC on FX 5 October 5; two were shifted to UFC on FUEL TV in November and another three will take place at UFC on FOX 5 in December.)
White stated that he has no animosity toward Jon Jones, although the two have not spoken since the event’s cancellation. (See video.)
Meanwhile, Lyoto Machida — who earned a title shot with his knockout win in August but turned down the opportunity to meet Jones at UFC 152 — is no longer next in line for a championship bout. “Lyoto’s been crying for this title shot for a long time, ” said White. “You know how this stuff goes: When you turn down the opportunity to fight, things start going in another direction.”
Superfights
With Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar actually booked, White gave Helwani insight on a few dream bouts that are still in the works.
He said that if welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Silva do fight in the future — a fight that both stars have expressed interest in as of late — it will most likely be at a 180-pound catchweight. “If Georges St-Pierre beats [Carlos] Condit, that could be the next fight,” he said. He also revealed the the fight would likely be at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. (See video.)
As for another dream match, White said that Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko is still only a dream. “I have done so much to try to get Fedor into the UFC,” he said. “The guy retired. I couldn’t get him when he was fighting — now we’re on such good terms I’m gonna pull him out of retirement?!” he laughed. (See video.)