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Dana White: Like Him or Not, Bryan Caraway ‘100 Percent’ Deserved the Bonus

It seemed no one in the MMA world (especially Nate Diaz) was too happy about Bryan Caraway being awarded a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus for his fight at UFC 159 only after Pat Healy tested positive for marijuana. The UFC gave the money to Cara…

The UFC gave the money to Caraway, which conformed to their rule that no fighter can receive a discretionary post-fight bonus if they test positive for any banned substance after the fight is over. Healy‘s test returned a positive result for marijuana and the New Jersey Athletic Control Board suspended him 90 days. His win over Jim Miller was changed to a no-contest.

In addition, Healy lost out on $130,000 in bonuses for Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night.

Caraway was given the bonus but then proceeded to state in an interview with MMAJunkie.com that he had “zero remorse or guilt” for taking the bonus after Healy tested positive and that he has “zero tolerance” for people that smoke marijuana.

Regardless of Caraway’s comments being in good taste or not when it seemed he was somehow gloating while Healy was left $130,000 poorer, UFC President Dana White says the decision to strip the bonuses from one fighter and give to another was absolutely the right move to make.

“He wasn’t eligible for that bonus. I know nobody likes Bryan Caraway. Bryan Caraway followed the rules. He had a submission that night and he followed the rules,” White said on Thursday about the decision when speaking to the media at UFC 160. “He absolutely, 100 percent deserves that bonus.”

The use of marijuana in sports continues to be a controversial and much-debated subject, but for now it is still deemed illegal and White says Healy knew that going into his fight at UFC 159. Whether he believes the drug should be banned or not doesn’t matter. Marijuana is illegal right now, and Healy tested positive for the drug and thus becomes ineligible for the bonuses.

“It’s illegal. You can’t do it, it’s a banned substance,” White said. “Should it be? I necessarily don’t think so. It doesn’t matter. It’s a banned substance. Every fighter knows you go in and you use marijuana and you get caught, you’re busted.”

White also points out that the rule affects any fighter on the UFC roster who fails a post-fight drug test no matter what substance they used. It also counts for fighters who miss weight; they are no longer eligible to win post-fight bonuses, either.

Whether marijuana usage should land in the same category as a serious performance-enhancing drug like steroids remains a subject worth discussing, but White believes there is no grey area on this matter when it comes to UFC policy.

Cheating is cheating and cheaters will not be rewarded.

“Imagine what it would say if I gave that kid $130,000 for not following the rules?” White said in closing.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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Transgender MMA Fighter Fallon Fox Makes Weight, Ready for CFA 11 Bout

Despite an enormous amount of controversy, Fallon Fox is now officially set for her upcoming match at Championship Fighting Alliance 11.Fox (2-0) came in comfortably under the 145-pound limit (via Facebook), where she’ll face Allanna Jones (2-1) during…

Despite an enormous amount of controversy, Fallon Fox is now officially set for her upcoming match at Championship Fighting Alliance 11.

Fox (2-0) came in comfortably under the 145-pound limit (via Facebook), where she’ll face Allanna Jones (2-1) during the CFA 11 women’s featherweight tournament semifinals.

In addition to Fox vs. Jones, the event also features Strikeforce and Bellator veterans, including former UFC fighter Mike Kyle, facing late replacement Travis Wiuff.

Kyle was originally scheduled to fight Valentijn Overeem, but that bout was scrapped shortly after Overeem injured himself during training (via MMA Mania).

CFA 11 Main Card

• Mike Kyle vs. Travis Wiuff
• Fallon Fox vs. Allanna Jones
• Luis Palomino vs. Robert Washington
• Elvin Brito vs. Sean Soriano
• Czar Sklavos vs. Alexis Vila
• Oscar Delgado vs. Mike King

Media attention around the event has dramatically spiked since Fox came out as the sport’s first openly male-to-female transgender athlete, brought to the public eye in an ESPN profile piece by veteran MMA journalist Loretta Hunt.

Several prominent names have negatively responded to Fox’s decision to compete in the women’s division, including Joe Rogan, heavyweight Matt Mitrione (via The MMA Hour) and UFC champion Ronda Rousey (via The New York Post).

Moreover, the controversial fighter also gained a PR black eye last April, when Australian star Bec Hyatt detailed a heated confrontation at Invicta FC 5.

According to sources with knowledge of the event, Fox was trespassing at the Kansas City-based all women’s MMA promotion, reportedly threatening Hyatt and other female fighters while being asked to leave by the Invicta FC staff.

That kind of press may follow Fox throughout the CFA 11 women’s 145-pound tournament, where the eventual winner will earn both a championship belt and a $20,000 prize.

CFA 11 takes place on May 24 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida, with the card to be broadcast at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on AXS TV.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

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Vitor Belfort Could Fight for Title Next but TRT Use Won’t Determine Location

Vitor Belfort is stuck in the crosshairs of controversy surrounding his use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), but it doesn’t mean he won’t get the next shot at the UFC middleweight title. Last weekend, Belfort knocked out former Strikeforce mi…

Last weekend, Belfort knocked out former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold with a spectacular spinning heel kick, which marked his second head kick finish in a row. The previous knockout was over top-five middleweight Michael Bisping, and it put Belfort back at the top of the division where he remains undefeated at 185 pounds outside of a lone loss to champion Anderson Silva.

The discussion surrounding Belfort‘s next fight hasn’t started yet, but UFC President Dana White didn’t rule out the possibility of a title shot against the winner of Silva and current top contender Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

“There’s no plans right now with Vitor. He just fought so we’ll see what happens. It would make sense for those two (Silva and Weidman) to fight and that’s not far away, and then those two fight or Vitor could fight again,” White said when speaking to the media on Thursday. “He could fight either one of those guys.”

The biggest question that continues to swirl around Belfort‘s involvement in a potential title fight is his continued use of TRT. While the treatment is not illegal by any means, Belfort‘s 2006 suspension after testing positive for steroids still haunts the middleweight contender.

For Belfort to continue on his TRT treatments he must receive a therapeutic use exemption from whatever state commission his fight is taking place in, and because of his past steroid trouble it could cause an issue.

“Vitor doesn’t want this, he’s aggravated and pissed off about this stuff. He doesn’t want his name to be smeared,” White said about Belfort‘s TRT usage. “I don’t like TRT, I’m not a fan of it, I don’t like it at all. I said a while ago these guys are going to be tested and Vitor was tested. Vitor followed the rules and did what he was supposed to do.”

As far as a location for the fight, White doesn’t see Belfort having any trouble receiving his fight license, but a use exemption for TRT is another story all together. White leaves that up to the commissions, but promises that the UFC isn’t putting Belfort in places like Brazil where he is allowed to use TRT just so he can continue to fight while using the treatment.

“That’s up to them. They’ll have to do a hearing or however they want to do it,” White said about Belfort being approved by another commission. “We’re not keeping Vitor out of fighting from anywhere. We had Vitor fight in Brazil because Vitor sells out in Brazil. It’s all a bunch of conspiracy, f—king crock of s—t.”

Whether or not Belfort sits out to face the winner of Silva vs. Weidman remains to be seen. Depending on who wins that fight and what kind of time off they will require after the early-July title bout could determine Belfort‘s next course of action.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.

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Dana White Blasts ‘Moron’ John Cholish, Cholish Offers Response

John Cholish walked away from the UFC after a second-round submission loss to Gleison Tibau at UFC on FX 8. The loss was the second defeat in a row for Cholish, who retired from the sport with a professional record of 8-3 and a UFC record of 1-2. After…

After his retirement, Cholish, a graduate of Cornell University who holds a job as a commodities trader on Wall Street, spoke to Bleacher Report’s Damon Martin about one of the reasons he walked away from the sport, low fighter pay:

Zuffa is a private company so they don’t have to disclose a lot of their information, and again this is my personal opinion, I’m not saying it’s for anyone else but I’ve spoken to a vast array of fighters from top level guys to mid-tier guys to lower level guys and I feel at least the guys I’ve spoken with kind of have that same feeling of maybe they’re not being fully compensated the way that they should be. But guys are scared.

During his conversation with Martin, Cholish broke down all the costs associated with his recent fight in Brazil. In the end, Martin estimated that Cholish returned home from Brazil losing a significant amount of money for his troubles.

UFC president Dana White was asked about the statement Cholish made to Martin.

“What’s scary is this guy wasn’t good enough to be in the UFC,” White said. “I wonder if he’s good enough to be on Wall Street. I mean, this guy has to be the biggest moron I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s talking about taxes? Yes, Wall Street guy you have to pay taxes, so do I. When we go down to Brazil and do a fight I pay taxes in Brazil too, and Sweden, and in all these other countries and states. Every state that we go to takes taxes.”

White continued, “He signed a contract. He got the same opportunity that Georges St-Pierre, that Anderson Silva, that Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and the list goes on and on. The unfortunate part of this business is some of you are good enough to be here and some of you are not. That’s life, Cholish.

“Unfortunately my friend, you weren’t good enough to be here. Hopefully you’re good enough to stick around on Wall Street, because if you don’t know what taxes are, I’ve got a feeling you’re not.”

According to the UFC president, “Fighter pay has been beaten to death. If you don’t want to be here, don’t sign a contract with us. I can tell you this, John Cholish was paid discretionary bonuses even when he lost. What do you want me to tell you? The guy is delusional, not too bright and what do you want me to say to that?”

Word of White’s comments did get back to Cholish, and he made it clear that he was more than willing to discuss the topic with White in person:

White has not responded to Cholish at this time.

**all quotes obtained firsthand by BR MMA unless noted.

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Dana White: UFC Champ Jon Jones Could Be Out Six Weeks, Could Be Out Six Months

The last time we saw UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones inside the Octagon, he made quick work of Chael Sonnen, earning a first-round TKO victory at UFC 159. Through the course of the four-and-a-half-minute bout, Sonnen landed a mere six si…

The MMA gods, being a vindictive bunch, had other plans for the light heavyweight kingpin.

When the celebrating champion took a brief glance down to the mat, he saw something no one should ever have to see. The bone of Jones’ left big toe was jutting through the skin, and his toe was bent at an unnatural angle.

When the damage was assessed, it was not as severe as it first appeared. For starters, the toe was not broken, just badly dislocated.

Jones has been on the mend, but little has been discussed about when he will be back in the Octagon.

UFC president Dana White talked about the promotion’s hobbled champion on Thursday, telling the media, “We talked yesterday. He’s feeling great, his toe is healing good, but the problem is the ligament. That ligament popped and anywhere you tear a ligament blood flow helps the thing heal and you don’t get a lot of blood flow in the toe.”

As for when Jones will be back in the cage, White was unsure: “The thing could be six weeks, it could be six months. It’s a pain in the ass.”

More info will be known early next week on Jones. The champion is currently in Russia, but when he returns, which White said would be on Monday, he will get another MRI on the toe.

Once the results of that MRI are known, speculation will begin as to who Jones will face in his next title defense along with when and where that fight will take place.

**all quotes obtained first-hand by BR MMA.

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Dana White: Mark Hunt’s Story ‘Is One of the Greatest Stories in Sports’

UFC heavyweight competitor Mark Hunt may be one win away from fighting for the UFC title. Yes, the same Mark Hunt whom the UFC once tried to pay to just go away and never fight for the promotion at all.Hunt’s road from unwanted asset to tit…

Hunt’s road from unwanted asset to title-fight contender is a crazy story. On Thursday, UFC president Dana White spoke about the tale of Mark Hunt.

When the UFC bought PRIDE FC, Hunt was part of that deal. His record at the time was 5-3, and he was coming off consecutive first-round submission losses to Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko. As White recalled, Hunt was not a fighter the UFC wanted: “We said ‘here, we’ll just buy your PRIDE contract out and pay you not to fight.'”

According to White, Hunt replied, “‘I want to fight, I want to earn it’ and he comes in and does what he did.”

What Hunt did and is still doing is to win. Sure he lost his first fight with the UFC, falling to a Sean McCorkle armbar at UFC 119, but since that loss, it’s been all victories for Hunt.

Hunt has won four straight fights. Two of them earned him “Knockout of the Night” bonus money, including his spectacular walk-off knockout of Stefan Struve on the UFC on Fuel TV 8 fight card.

White was asked if he admired the stance and accomplishments that Hunt has run up since their conversation about the possible buyout. The UFC president took it one step further than mere admiration: “I don’t admire it, I absolutely, positively and completely respect it. What he’s been able to accomplish is one of the greatest stories in sports right now. It’s unbelievable.”

Will Hunt take another step in his unbelievable journey? We’ll find out on Saturday night when he faces Junior dos Santos in the co-main event of UFC 160.

All quotes were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report MMA.

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