Tag: Dana White

GSP’s Mentor: GSP Should Ask for Public Apology from ‘Buffoon’ Dana White

Dana White crossed the line at the UFC 167 post-fight press conference, and it’s time he gives Georges St-Pierre the apology he deserves, according to Kristof Midoux.
The UFC President has taken a lot of heat over the last couple of weeks after h…

Dana White crossed the line at the UFC 167 post-fight press conference, and it’s time he gives Georges St-Pierre the apology he deserves, according to Kristof Midoux.

The UFC President has taken a lot of heat over the last couple of weeks after his blowup following St-Pierre’s controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks. St-Pierre, who is the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view-draw, owns UFC records for most wins and time spent in the Octagon.

Bruised and battered from his bout with Hendricks, St-Pierre told UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he was going on an indefinite hiatus to clear his head and patch up some personal problems in his life.

At the press conference, White explained that St-Pierre owed it to the UFC, fans and Hendricks to step up and offer an immediate rematch. According to White, St-Pierre lost the fight, and his entire team knew it.

It was an uncomfortable situation that shined a negative light on one of MMA’s most beloved stars. Many felt White’s decision to go on a public tirade was unfair to St-Pierre, who had dedicated years of his life as a company man and breadwinner for the UFC.

Why not check to see how your fighter is doing? Why not go backstage to get a better feel of the situation before exploding in front of the media?

These were some of the questions from media and fans.

A day after the fallout from the press conference, Midoux, St-Pierre’s mentor and corner man, told Journal de Montreal that White called and apologized for his post-fight comments (h/t Fighters Only):

Few people know it, but the next morning [White] called Georges and told him ‘I’m sorry, I watched the fight again and you have indeed won. I spoke under the influence of emotion.’ Georges told him not to worry, that he understood.

Despite Midoux’s claims, White went on UFC Tonight the following Wednesday and continued to publicly claim that St-Pierre owed Hendricks a rematch. He also stated that he hadn’t re-watched the fight, and he still felt like Hendricks deserved the decision.

It would seem like the MMA world is trapped in an unending battle of he said, he said.

Regardless, Midoux thinks a public offense deserves a public apology. He seems to feel like White is sweet-talking St-Pierre behind closed doors, while simultaneously trying to preserve his own public image:

If I were [GSP], I would ask for a public apology from White, who should say to the media that Georges has really won the fight. …What was said and done by Dana White was not correct. It confuses some roles. White enters the octagon to put on the belt. Georges goes there to fight as if his life depended on it. Georges is a lion that has respect, and White is a buffoon without respect.

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta came galloping in on a white horse a little over a week ago to do damage control. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, he said that White was “misunderstood” and St-Pierre “doesn’t owe the UFC anything.”

Is White’s alleged private apology and Fertitta’s clarification enough to let bygones be bygones, or should White step up to the podium and address St-Pierre in the same manner he reprimanded him?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The 5 Best Fights in TUF Finale History

The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, particularly the show’s finale, effectively resuscitated a nearly flat-lined UFC in April 2005.
Countless captivating bouts have been showcased on finales of the show, including the granddaddy of them …

The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, particularly the show’s finale, effectively resuscitated a nearly flat-lined UFC in April 2005.

Countless captivating bouts have been showcased on finales of the show, including the granddaddy of them all, a bout that determined the winner of Season 1 between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. 

The show broke new ground 17 seasons later when the company’s brass decided to film a season with both male and female fighters competing in the bantamweight division.

With the finale of the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter just four days away, here’s a look back at the best scraps in TUF finale history.

 

Begin Slideshow

As UFC Adds More Events for 2014, How Much Is Too Much?

Depending on your point of view, your heart either leapt or stopped cold last week, as Lorenzo Fertitta stood at a podium in New York and announced that the UFC planned to do 54 events during 2014.
Fifty-four.
It was a breathtaking number, a staggering…

Depending on your point of view, your heart either leapt or stopped cold last week, as Lorenzo Fertitta stood at a podium in New York and announced that the UFC planned to do 54 events during 2014.

Fifty-four.

It was a breathtaking number, a staggering increase from the 33 the UFC will have done by the end of 2013 and one that obviously meant the fight company would average more than an event per week during the next calendar turn.

Later, Fertitta said he misspoke.

The UFC CEO corrected himself in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, saying his organization’s fight cards would number “in the 40s” next year. Most of the upsurge, he added, would happen at overseas Fight Night shows that might not even air in the U.S.

If accurate, Fertitta’s recalibrated number simply represents the next step in the UFC’s ongoing international expansion plans. The faint whooshing sound you heard in response was American MMA fans sighing in unison—half of them with relief, half with disappointment.

No matter how you look at it though, 2014 will see yet another increase in the number of overall events from a promotion that at times appears hell bent on testing the limits of its own popularity.

Even it you’re one of those people who “can’t get enough” UFC, it occasionally feels like the fight company is on a mission to find out how much is too much.

Since its popularity exploded with the debut of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2005, the UFC has steadily increased its annual crush of events—from five each year during 2003-04 to the 40-plus it forecasts for 2014. Simultaneously, it’s also drastically boosted the sheer volume of its programming hours, making nearly every fight it holds available to fans on television or Online.

Its fledgling broadcast deal with Fox now means the UFC has four separate tiers of live televised events, from pay-per-view broadcasts all the way down to occasional shows on Fox Sports 2. For each of those cards, fans—if they so desire—can watch somewhere in the neighborhood of six hours worth of content on a variety of channels and devices.

For hardcore fans, it has created a pugilistic wonderland where—even if you eschew off-brand products like Bellator, World Series of Fighting, Invicta and the weekly Friday broadcasts on AXS TV—there’s hardly ever a dull moment.

It also means the UFC continues to demand more and more of its fans, if not in PPV dollars then simply in the time it asks them to commit to following its many machinations.

At this point you couldn’t blame casual fans—the ones who might zone in and zone out at will—if they feel like keeping up with the UFC is like following a season of The Wire.

Miss an episode or two, and you end up feeling totally lost.

Take for example the case of Ricardo Lamas, who will fight Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 169 in February after appearing on exactly one previous UFC main card broadcast.

Hardcores are all over Lamas, who’s been stellar while going 4-0 in the Octagon since June 2011. There’s no doubt in their minds that he’s earned a shot at the championship after crafting a trio of impressive stoppages during those outings.

Casual fans, however, might not even know who Lamas is, considering that the bulk of his UFC bouts have aired on preliminary cards.

Not only will the Aldo fight be Lamas’ first appearance on a UFC pay-per-view, it will be his just his third showing on UFC TV, period. He fought in the first bout of a Fox broadcast back in January, but previous to that, his only televised UFC fight was on the now-defunct Fuel TV network.

His other pair of bouts were both Facebook prelims and so casual spectators would have to be following the thread pretty closely to remember him.

That doesn’t seem like a great situation for anyone—not Lamas, not Aldo and certainly not fans.

Now, imagine if he wins. As the UFC continues to add events to its schedule, cases like Lamas’ are only going to become more common. Great fighters will get put in big spots with little to no build.

Long story short, as the number of shows, the fighters on the payroll and the expectations on fans all continue to increase it gets more and more difficult to keep track of what the UFC is doing. At some point, a ceiling will be reached, a levy will break and fans will be forced to say no mas.

Perhaps the UFC will bump against that ceiling three years from now, or five.

Or perhaps it’s already there, now that not even the guy who owns the company seems to know exactly how many events are on tap for next year.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Coach: Dana White Admitted to GSP He Beat Hendricks

Kristof Midoux, a coach and mentor to Georges St. Pierre, told Journal de Quebec the UFC president called the welterweight champion the day after he retained his belt at UFC 167 to apologise for his “emotional” outburst the night before (h/t …

Kristof Midoux, a coach and mentor to Georges St. Pierre, told Journal de Quebec the UFC president called the welterweight champion the day after he retained his belt at UFC 167 to apologise for his “emotional” outburst the night before (h/t MMA Mania).

What’s more, Midoux claims, Dana White also told GSP that he thinks he beat Johny Hendricks.

Controversy surrounded the French-Canadian’s ninth UFC title defence last week against Hendricks, after a close decision win many thought should have gone to the contender.

To make things more cryptic, GSP hinted at retirement moments after his victory.

White seemed outraged—both at the judging decision and GSP’s comments that he was hanging up his gloves.

Indeed, there is a strong case for Hendricks as the deserving winner, considering the amount of damage he delivered and the fact that he came close to finishing GSP more than once.

On the other hand, GSP supporters believe he won at least two of the five rounds, with only the first round splitting the judges. That’s the argument GSP’s corner has been making. Midoux explained, “Few people know it, but the next morning he (White) called George and told him, ‘I’m sorry, I watched the fight again and you have indeed won. I spoke under the influence of emotion.'”

White has yet to verify Midoux’s statements and hasn’t publicly taken back what he said about GSP. Perhaps he should considering he’s been such a loyal long-serving champion. His words, in many people’s eyes, were an attack on the champion’s reputation, something reputation management company Nuprofile could fix.

Midoux, a former MMA fighter himself, has spent 15 years in GSP’s corner and has been sounding the calls for his retirement since before UFC 167, per La Presse (translation via MMA Underground).

Since the fight, he’s been repeating his calls, urging the champion to retire in an interview with Journal de Montreal (h/t BJPenn.com).

GSP, meanwhile, remains tight-lipped about plans for his future.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Friday Link Dump: Why the UFC’s 205-Pound Division Is in Trouble, Why Giorgio Petrosyan Is the Best, Bacon Recipes + More

(Eddie Alvarez drops some truth about “The Knockout Game.” / Props: Jamie Alvarez via Reddit)

The UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division Is in Disarray and Showing Little Sign of Improvement (BloodyElbow)

Ricardo Lamas Betrays All New Yorkers, Claims Sbarro Has The Best Pizza (Fightlinker)

What Does MMA Do to the Human Brain? One Study Searches for Answers (MMAJunkie)

The Finest Striker on the Planet: Giorgio Petrosyan (BleacherReport)

Holy crap. This is the most hardcore loss-prevention policy I’ve ever seen. (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

UFC President Dana White Returns to Boxing With ‘The Fighters’ (MMAFighting)

The 20 Best Bacon Recipes Ever (HiConsumption)

Heisman Horrors: 10 Sketchy Winners (MadeMan)

NBA Coaches and Their Hip-Hop Producer Equivalents (Complex)

20 Ghetto Fabulous Glamour Shots (WorldWideInterweb)

Norman Reedus: The Walking Man (MensFitness)

Hotties in the Wild (DoubleViking)


(Eddie Alvarez drops some truth about “The Knockout Game.” / Props: Jamie Alvarez via Reddit)

The UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division Is in Disarray and Showing Little Sign of Improvement (BloodyElbow)

Ricardo Lamas Betrays All New Yorkers, Claims Sbarro Has The Best Pizza (Fightlinker)

What Does MMA Do to the Human Brain? One Study Searches for Answers (MMAJunkie)

The Finest Striker on the Planet: Giorgio Petrosyan (BleacherReport)

Holy crap. This is the most hardcore loss-prevention policy I’ve ever seen. (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

UFC President Dana White Returns to Boxing With ‘The Fighters’ (MMAFighting)

The 20 Best Bacon Recipes Ever (HiConsumption)

Heisman Horrors: 10 Sketchy Winners (MadeMan)

NBA Coaches and Their Hip-Hop Producer Equivalents (Complex)

20 Ghetto Fabulous Glamour Shots (WorldWideInterweb)

Norman Reedus: The Walking Man (MensFitness)

Hotties in the Wild (DoubleViking)

Dana White Goes off on UG Post Saying He Should Retire

Evidently longtime UFC president Dana White stumbled upon a thread that touched on a sensitive subject on The Underground Forum on Mixedmartialarts.com on Wednesday.
White fired back aggressively after reading a post from Youtube personality Reggi…

Evidently longtime UFC president Dana White stumbled upon a thread that touched on a sensitive subject on The Underground Forum on Mixedmartialarts.com on Wednesday.

White fired back aggressively after reading a post from Youtube personality Reggie Warren Jr. that concluded with “Step the f*** down and let someone who understands what these guys go through be the face of Zuffa. The fighters and fans deserve better.”

Warren Jr. vilified White for his comments of the UFC’s most prolific pay-per-view draw, Georges St-Pierre, following the welterweight champ’s controversial win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 on Saturday.

The 44-year-old White didn’t stray from his typical never-back-down persona, posting the following in response to Warren Jr.’s assaults:

“Hey Reggie, Go f*** yourself. There is another bad word for all you P*****S on the UG!!”

White’s fun didn’t stop there, however, and when another fan chimed in to compare the money Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez made in their boxing match in October to typical UFC payouts, White erupted.

“STFU and go away. If you hate the UFC so bad then WTF are you doing here? go follow 1 Direction or something else! Bradley wished he makes what GSP makes, so the fact that you have no clue what you are talking about and you hate me and the UFC just GET THE F*** OUTTA HERE,” White posted.

White continued to defend himself, and later pointed out that St-Pierre competes significantly more than Bradley or Marquez. The UFC’s figurehead then insinuated that Bradley, who in October made $4.1 million to Marquez’s $6 million, would envy the type of money Hendricks rakes in.

“Yes dip****, GSP makes big f****** $$$$! You didnt know that because its none of your f****** business. Y ou also have no clue what JH makes. Bradley wishes he made what Johnny made too. … and GSP fights 3 times a year!! They do not,” White posted.

Another fan needled White by reminding him that St-Pierre fought only twice in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013 and only once in 2011 and 2012. The nitpicking seemingly pushed the UFC’s linchpin into a corner where he continued to scrap to defend his name.

“D***head, you will know what a certain fighter makes if HE wants to say it. I on the other hand will say whatever the f*** i want beacuse i DO know what they make,” White posted.

Third-ranked flyweight Ian McCall momentarily joined the thread to come to White’s defense, claiming essentially that the company’s brass compensates its fighters more than the public perceives it to. 

In his last bout, and on top of his fight purse, McCall pocketed a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus for his enthralling scrap with Iliarde Santos at UFC 163 in August. 

McCall’s sentiments apparently calmed his boss down, and White ended his tirade with a pair of more lighthearted posts, the first of which read: 

OK, I popped in to say hi to the UG. Always fun boys, Dont get butthurt and take s*** personal. This is the way i talk and i love talking to fight fans. You know me by now i have been here for 13 years and if you don’t like me or the way i talk then you probbably shouldnt talk to me. There are plenty of other personallities and cool people to talk to in the sport. See you on Dec 28th.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com