Dana White ‘Really Confident’ UFC Will Take Event to Japan in 2011

Filed under: UFC, News, JapanLAS VEGAS — The UFC has not hosted a show in Japan in over a decade. The promotion hoped they would be heading back after acquiring PRIDE in 2007, but a series of roadblocks has kept them out.

Suddenly, however, it seems …

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Dana WhiteLAS VEGAS — The UFC has not hosted a show in Japan in over a decade. The promotion hoped they would be heading back after acquiring PRIDE in 2007, but a series of roadblocks has kept them out.

Suddenly, however, it seems like the doors to the destination are opening, and UFC president Dana White said he believes the UFC will be hosting a show in Japan in 2011.

“Everything that needs to happen to go to Japan is falling into place so far,” White said. “So it’s looking good. It’s on our calendar this year.”

Dana White Marvels at Anderson Silva’s Performance at UFC 126

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to UFC president Dana White following UFC 126 about Anderson Silva’s finish of Vitor Belfort, a potential Silva vs. GSP fight, why the UFC booked Jon Jones vs. Shogun Rua and his thoughts on Miguel Torres and Forrest Griffin’s wins.

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to UFC president Dana White following UFC 126 about Anderson Silva’s finish of Vitor Belfort, a potential Silva vs. GSP fight, why the UFC booked Jon Jones vs. Shogun Rua and his thoughts on Miguel Torres and Forrest Griffin’s wins.

Watch This Dude Break James Toney’s Record for the Fastest Firing of a Zuffa Employee

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)
The best part of Dana White’s most recent video blog was getting to re-watch the UFC’s new Portuguese translator fail miserably at his job and basically get shit-canned on the spot by the company’s president within a few mi…


(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)

The best part of Dana White’s most recent video blog was getting to re-watch the UFC’s new Portuguese translator fail miserably at his job and basically get shit-canned on the spot by the company’s president within a few minutes of starting his new role with Zuffa at yesterday’s UFC 126 press conference. Seriously, we figured it was going to be tough for anyone to beat James Toney’s mark of 3:19, but this dude did it, and did it in style.

First the guy finishes one of his suspiciously brief translations of a long-winded response by Anderson Silva with, "That’s the essence of [what he said]," then he admitted that he wasn’t paying attention to one of the Brazilian reporter’s questions, which is odd considering it’s, I don’t know….HIS JOB to translate the questions and answers for the press conference.

White didn’t pull any punches with the disinterested translator who was hired in response to criticism that the UFC’s former translator, Ed Soares, was guilty of sugar coating and sometimes purposely mistranslating some of the less complimentary statements his fighters like Silva and Junior dos Santos made during post-fight interviews. When his latest hire screwed up, White snapped and told the guy, who seemed out of place in a room full of fight fans and reporters (to say the least) to hand the microphone to Soares.

Note to future applicants: Wait until your probation period is up before getting fired. That way you can at least walk away with benefits and a 401K. This dude barely had UFC entered as his employer on Facebook and now he has to explain to all the people in his book club and birdwatching society that he is unemployed again.

New York Tells UFC to Go F*ck Themselves, Basically

  ("This one. Right up your ass.")
Despite a high-profile appearance at Madison Square Garden last month in which the UFC announced its intentions to bring MMA to New York State — as well as a reported $75,000 in palm-grease to An…

 Andrew Cuomo New York MMA
("This one. Right up your ass.")

Despite a high-profile appearance at Madison Square Garden last month in which the UFC announced its intentions to bring MMA to New York State — as well as a reported $75,000 in palm-grease to Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial campaign — MMA Payout broke the news last night that Governor Cuomo neglected to include a provision in the state’s 2011-2012 budget that would sanction MMA in New York. In fact, Cuomo’s Executive Budget actually proposes eliminating the chairperson of the state athletic commission altogether. So not only is the Governor not backing MMA as Zuffa had hoped, he doesn’t seem to have a high opinion of combat sports in general. 

At this point, the MMA ban in New York can still be lifted through the more traditional route of a legislative bill — of which there are currently two in the assembly and one in the senate, all awaiting review — but we saw how well that worked last time. Making MMA part of the state budget was supposed to be the easy way in, and it just ain’t happening. If I were Dana White, I’d be furious right now. Money has been donated. Big press conferences have been held. And now, the current timetable of MMA regulation in New York is: Who freakin’ knows?

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Dana White Expects Silva vs. Belfort Will Be Great … Or Terrible

(“Give it up for Detlef Schrempf, everbody.” PicProps: The MMA Space)
You get the impression that Dana White still wakes up screaming about Abu Dhabi. Clearly, though White is holding white-knuckle tight to his belief that Anderson Silva is…


(“Give it up for Detlef Schrempf, everbody.” PicProps: The MMA Space)

You get the impression that Dana White still wakes up screaming about Abu Dhabi. Clearly, though White is holding white-knuckle tight to his belief that Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, “The Spider” hasn’t totally worked his way out of the boss’ doghouse after that debacle against Demian Maia … and Thales Leites before that … and Patrick Cote before that. For that reason, White tells USA Today’s Sergio Non this week that he’s taking an “expect the best, prepare for the worst” approach to Silva’s middleweight title defense against Vitor Belfort this Saturday at UFC 126.

Check it out after the jump, where we’ve taken the liberty of changing all of White’s swears back to the words he intended since – you know – this isn’t an edited-for-television movie and none of us are six years old. And dear God, if you are six years old, log off at once. Where are your parents?

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Dana White Discusses UFC 126, Strikeforce GP and Japanese MMA

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 126 press conference about the importance of Silva vs. Belfort, his thoughts on the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, the state of Japanese MMA and MMA in New York. and whether he is interested in talking once again with HBO.

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 126 press conference about the importance of Silva vs. Belfort, his thoughts on the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, the state of Japanese MMA and MMA in New York. and whether he is interested in talking once again with HBO.