Tag: Interview

Lorenzo Fertitta Walks Back Dana White’s Burial of Georges St-Pierre: “GSP Doesn’t Owe Us Anything”


(He’s smart, well-spoken, and he always wipes down his machines. What’s not to like about this guy?)

Watching Lorenzo Fertitta do interviews is like getting a glimpse into a utopian alternate-universe in which the president of the UFC wasn’t a petulant spaz whose first response to any criticism is to call you a pussy. Fertitta is an adult, and as such, he occasionally has to clean up the messes left behind by his minority partner. Here’s what the Zuffa Chairman/CEO had to say yesterday to Ariel Helwani, regarding Dana White’s now-infamous rant about what Georges St-Pierre “owes” the UFC following last weekend’s fight against Johny Hendricks:

“I think Dana was misunderstood and hopefully he’s trying to clarify that. GSP doesn’t owe us anything. If he chooses to retire, then so be it, he’ll retire and become someone that people will always look up to as one of the great champions in the UFC. If he decides to fight again, then great. I think where the confusion was, Georges never communicated anything to us prior to the fight relative to that he may be making an announcement. In fact, I think Dana said that he had talked to him and he said ‘no no no, everything’s fine.’

“And then after the fight, the announcement he made was very vague. And I think what Dana was trying to say was that either you’re retired or you’re not, right? We can’t just put the UFC belt on the shelf for an undefined period, basically put it in limbo forever, because that’s not fair to the contenders that have been working their whole lifetime to get the opportunity to get the belt. It’s not fair to the fans to have the title sit on the side for too long. And it’s not fair to us as a company because we wouldn’t be able to plan. I think that’s what the message was meant to be, but I think unfortunately the press took it in a different way.


(He’s smart, well-spoken, and he always wipes down his machines. What’s not to like about this guy?)

Watching Lorenzo Fertitta do interviews is like getting a glimpse into a utopian alternate-universe in which the president of the UFC wasn’t a petulant spaz whose first response to any criticism is to call you a pussy. Fertitta is an adult, and as such, he occasionally has to clean up the messes left behind by his minority partner. Here’s what the Zuffa Chairman/CEO had to say yesterday to Ariel Helwani, regarding Dana White’s now-infamous rant about what Georges St-Pierre “owes” the UFC following last weekend’s fight against Johny Hendricks:

“I think Dana was misunderstood and hopefully he’s trying to clarify that. GSP doesn’t owe us anything. If he chooses to retire, then so be it, he’ll retire and become someone that people will always look up to as one of the great champions in the UFC. If he decides to fight again, then great. I think where the confusion was, Georges never communicated anything to us prior to the fight relative to that he may be making an announcement. In fact, I think Dana said that he had talked to him and he said ‘no no no, everything’s fine.’

“And then after the fight, the announcement he made was very vague. And I think what Dana was trying to say was that either you’re retired or you’re not, right? We can’t just put the UFC belt on the shelf for an undefined period, basically put it in limbo forever, because that’s not fair to the contenders that have been working their whole lifetime to get the opportunity to get the belt. It’s not fair to the fans to have the title sit on the side for too long. And it’s not fair to us as a company because we wouldn’t be able to plan. I think that’s what the message was meant to be, but I think unfortunately the press took it in a different way.

“Georges doesn’t owe us anything. Just, what I think he does owe us is — clarify what you’re doing, right? Just let us know so we can plan…

“There is a sense of celebrity that is now involved, and along with that celebrity, particularly when you carry a country, there’s pressure that’s associated with it. I think it’s tough to be Georges St-Pierre some days. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of pressure that goes along with it, but he’s a consummate professional and he handles it great. He always lives up to anything we’ve ever asked him to do and he always performs in the octagon in the bright lights. So I think it’s just a moment in time, and I think he’s going to be fine.”

See? Now doesn’t that make a lot more sense? Obviously, the stuff about Dana White being “misunderstood” is absolute bullshit — he was understood just fine, unfortunately, and he was still defending his comments four days after he first made them — but when Lorenzo explains his case in rational, non-abusive terms, you can almost sympathize with their position. GSP doesn’t owe the UFC an immediate rematch with Johny Hendricks, but he should be able to explain to his employers what he’s doing, and for how long, so that everyone can move forward from there.

St-Pierre has always been a very private, guarded person, sometimes to his own detriment. Still, he certainly didn’t deserve the verbal carpet-bombing he received directly after the toughest fight of his life. But hey, that’s our Dana, always calling like he sees it, and that’s why love him, right? I mean, that’s totally preferable to an executive who’s respectful, thinks before he speaks, and can go five words without saying “fuck,” right? RIGHT???

Quote of the Day: Georges St. Pierre Will Never Fight Again Unless Freddie Roach Is in His Corner


(Hey, it could be worse. / Photo via Sherdog)

We’re not sure if you’ve heard about this yet but UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre hung onto his belt this past Saturday at UFC 167 with a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks and then kinda, sorta announced a retirement, of sorts. The story hasn’t got much attention so first off, we wanted to make sure you knew about that.

In any case, UFC president Dana White is intent on bringing GSP back to fight Hendricks again and, according to a new report from Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who is in Macau to cover the Manny Pacquiao/Brandon Rios boxing match this week, “Rush” told “PacMan” trainer Freddie Roach that he’ll never fight again if he doesn’t have him in his corner.

Roach said he has yet to speak to St-Pierre on the telephone, but said the champion texted him.

“He said, ‘I’m not going to fight again unless you are in my corner,'” Roach said. Asked to clarify if that meant on fight night, as well, Roach said, “Absolutely.” To this point, Roach has never been in a UFC fighter’s corner on the night of a fight.

Roach, always eager to promote himself, also said that he “pretty much came up with the game plan” for St. Pierre against Hendricks. So…good job?


(Hey, it could be worse. / Photo via Sherdog)

We’re not sure if you’ve heard about this yet but UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre hung onto his belt this past Saturday at UFC 167 with a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks and then kinda, sorta announced a retirement, of sorts. The story hasn’t got much attention so first off, we wanted to make sure you knew about that.

In any case, UFC president Dana White is intent on bringing GSP back to fight Hendricks again and, according to a new report from Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who is in Macau to cover the Manny Pacquiao/Brandon Rios boxing match this week, “Rush” told “PacMan” trainer Freddie Roach that he’ll never fight again if he doesn’t have him in his corner.

Roach said he has yet to speak to St-Pierre on the telephone, but said the champion texted him.

“He said, ‘I’m not going to fight again unless you are in my corner,’” Roach said. Asked to clarify if that meant on fight night, as well, Roach said, “Absolutely.” To this point, Roach has never been in a UFC fighter’s corner on the night of a fight.

Roach, always eager to promote himself, also said that he “pretty much came up with the game plan” for St. Pierre against Hendricks. So…good job?

I wrote elsewhere today that St. Pierre may very well want to go ahead and stay retired. He’s anxious, can’t sleep and suspects that aliens are fucking with him. Plus, he’s almost gotten knocked out two out of his last three fights and has been at it for over a decade.

I don’t know what’s more worrisome — St. Pierre believing that he’s been abducted by extra-terrestrials or him believing that Freddie Roach knows anything about MMA and should therefore be designing his game-plans and cornering him during fights.

– Elias Cepeda

Georges St. Pierre Denies Rumors of Father’s Illness/Unplanned Pregnancy While Dana White Continues to Force a Hendricks Rematch


(Does this look like the face of a man with an illegitimate batchild? Via GSP’s Twitter.) 

It’s safe to say that Georges St. Pierre’s post-fight interview/semi-retirement raised a lot of questions in regards to not only his mental well-being, but the litany of personal issues he claimed were forcing him to step away from the sport. Although Dana White was quick to tell reporters that GSP’s problems “aren’t as bad as he thinks they are,” Dana White is neither a recognized psychologist nor a Scanner to our knowledge, so his opinions mean fuck all.

Being the bottom-feeders that they truly are, TMZ in turn used St. Pierre’s ambiguous post-fight speech as a platform to let the unsubstantiated rumors fly  — specifically, that his father was dying and that he had knocked up a woman who was keeping the baby against his wishes.

In any case, White spoke to St. Pierre yesterday and has since refuted both rumors via The LA Times. While he neglected to discuss the specifics of GSP’s “personal issues,” St. Pierre’s former manager, Stephane Patry, attempted to shed some light on the issue during a segment on Quebec’s 98.5 FM Sports. His statements are after the jump:


(Does this look like the face of a man with an illegitimate batchild? Via GSP’s Twitter.) 

It’s safe to say that Georges St. Pierre’s post-fight interview/semi-retirement raised a lot of questions in regards to not only his mental well-being, but the litany of personal issues he claimed were forcing him to step away from the sport. Although Dana White was quick to tell reporters that GSP’s problems “aren’t as bad as he thinks they are,” Dana White is neither a recognized psychologist nor a Scanner to our knowledge, so his opinions mean fuck all.

Being the bottom-feeders that they truly are, TMZ in turn used St. Pierre’s ambiguous post-fight speech as a platform to let the unsubstantiated rumors fly  – specifically, that his father was dying and that he had knocked up a woman who was keeping the baby against his wishes.

In any case, White spoke to St. Pierre yesterday and has since refuted both rumors via The LA Times. While he neglected to discuss the specifics of GSP’s “personal issues,” St. Pierre’s former manager, Stephane Patry, attempted to shed some light on the issue during a segment on Quebec’s 98.5 FM Sports (Props to BloodyElbow for the translation):

“Do you have any idea what the personal problems that seem to have haunted him and affected his concentration during these past few weeks or days are?”

Patry: “The only thing that I can think of, that I know of, is that between the period where I was his manager and his current management, he had a manager for three years, a woman named Shari Spencer. It didn’t end well between them. When things ended between me and Georges, we stayed good friends but it ended very badly with Shari Spencer and I know she’s suing him for several million dollars. I don’t know if the lawsuit is advancing against Georges and he’s gonna lose it but I don’t see another problem. His parents are in good health, his two sisters too and he doesn’t have health problems otherwise he couldn’t fight. The only thing I could see…”

“Georges doesn’t have children?”

Patry: “No, he doesn’t have any children either. At the moment he isn’t married, he has someone in his life but that’s not on this side either that’s 100% sure. The only thing I can see is the lawsuit with his former manager.”

As we all know, St. Pierre split with Spencer in late 2010 to pursue a somewhat misinformed business relationship with fictional “Entourage” power agent Ari Gold that was sadly doomed from the start. Prior to that, St. Pierre was managed by Patry while training at Brazilian Top Team Canada. He split with both following his shocking upset loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69.

While Patry’s words help shed some light on the mental state of St. Pierre nowadays, they still raise a lot of questions. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, GSP stated that he had “a bunch of stuff happening” that required his full attention. While it’s understandable that a multi-million dollar lawsuit could trouble a guy even if he makes 12 million dollars a year, it also makes one wonder if said lawsuit is the *only* obstacle St. Pierre is currently facing.

In any case, White also told the LA Times that a St. Pierre/Hendricks rematch is “on track” despite St. Pierre’s pesky concerns for his future health:

 As far as a rematch, we’re on schedule and I’ll have a date within a couple weeks. I feel confident that Georges is fine with that and all is on track.

So there you have it: A personally conflicted, emotionally/physically battered and uninterested GSP is already on track to rematch the guy who beat him into semi-retirement, before he can even recover from said beating. We’re sure that nothing terrible can possibly come from this scenario.

–J. Jones 

Exclusive Rampage Jackson Interview: MMA Legend Talks UFC, Bellator and Gaming

Those who have forgotten may soon remember why Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was a former UFC champion and one of the most feared light heavyweights in the world. In speaking Monday with Jackson in an exclusive interview, it was tough initially getting him to open up. Longtime fans of MMA know Jackson to be a fun, […]

Those who have forgotten may soon remember why Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was a former UFC champion and one of the most feared light heavyweights in the world. In speaking Monday with Jackson in an exclusive interview, it was tough initially getting him to open up. Longtime fans of MMA know Jackson to be a fun, […]

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Dana White Lends Some Credence to Chael Sonnen’s Lil Nog Jokes at the Expense of His Own Intelligence


(We would have also accepted “Luke Cummo.” Via The American Gangster’s twitter.) 

As you all know, Alexander Gustafsson was recently scheduled to take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (as we suggested) in a match that was in no way a gimme fight to set up Jones/Gustafsson II. Less than a week later, Lil’ Nog pulled out from the fight with a back injury — the fifth such time he has been forced to do so in his UFC career.

While most of us (ie. Chael Sonnen) were content to use Nogueira’s run of bad luck as the basis for several personal attacks on Twitter, Dana White recently revealed that the blame for what was quite possibly the shortest-lived fight in UFC history lies solely on his own shoulders, as Lil Nog never actually agreed to the fight in the first place. He tells MMAJunkie:

What happened was that night we decided to make the fight. Gustafsson said yes, and they couldn’t get hold of him, so I said, ‘F–k it,’ and just went with it and announced the fight, and of course, he’s hurt.

The fight isn’t for four months, and he’s already determined he’s hurt. I don’t understand that. The guy is always hurt. Every time you call him, he’s hurt.

While I typically draw the line when it comes to taking pot shots at a Nogueira, I do find it interesting that the younger, not-run-over-by-a-truck-as-a-child Nogueira has been battling more injury issues than the older, run-over-by-a-truck-as-a-child, arm-shattered-by-Frank-Mir Nogueira as of late. I’m not saying Sonnen’s onto something, but he kind of is, you guys.

Taking pot shots at Dana White, on the other hand….


(We would have also accepted “Luke Cummo.” Via The American Gangster’s twitter.) 

As you all know, Alexander Gustafsson was recently scheduled to take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (as we suggested) in a match that was in no way a gimme fight to set up Jones/Gustafsson II. Less than a week later, Lil’ Nog pulled out from the fight with a back injury — the fifth such time he has been forced to do so in his UFC career.

While most of us (ie. Chael Sonnen) were content to use Nogueira’s run of bad luck as the basis for several personal attacks on Twitter, Dana White recently revealed that the blame for what was quite possibly the shortest-lived fight in UFC history lies solely on his own shoulders, as Lil Nog never actually agreed to the fight in the first place. He tells MMAJunkie:

What happened was that night we decided to make the fight. Gustafsson said yes, and they couldn’t get hold of him, so I said, ‘F–k it,’ and just went with it and announced the fight, and of course, he’s hurt.

The fight isn’t for four months, and he’s already determined he’s hurt. I don’t understand that. The guy is always hurt. Every time you call him, he’s hurt.

While I typically draw the line when it comes to taking pot shots at a Nogueira, I do find it interesting that the younger, not-run-over-by-a-truck-as-a-child Nogueira has been battling more injury issues than the older, run-over-by-a-truck-as-a-child, arm-shattered-by-Frank-Mir Nogueira as of late. I’m not saying Sonnen’s onto something, but he kind of is, you guys.

Taking pot shots at Dana White, on the other hand….well, I think BloodyElbow’s Brent Brookhouse best summed up how I feel about The Baldfather’s line of logic here:

I know I’ve been a bit gif-heavy as of late, but I gotta say, Brent…

NAILED IT.

–J. Jones

Renzo Gracie Just Provided the Most Astute Analysis of Rousimar Palhares Ever


(Let’s just say that the cake with a stripper in it ended in a goddamn bloodbath.) 

Much has been done to try and explain away the assholish behavior of Rousimar Palhares in the wake of AnkleGate ’13. Although “Toquinho” —  which means either “Tree Stump,” “The Brazilian Ankle-Eating Sasquatch,” or “OH GOD, I TAP! I TAP!!” depending on who you ask — has been notoriously dubbed a dirty fighter for his inability to release a submission hold when prompted, it was his knee-obliterating heel hook of Mike Pierce at Fight Night 29 that truly took the blood-filled cake, forcing the UFC to release Palhares back into the jungles of Brazil forevermore.

Recently, it was announced that Palhares would emerge from hiding to take on UFC veteran Dean Lister in a submission-only match at the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo. The MMA world reacted with equal parts fear and excitement — kind of like how Rousimar reacts when he catches his reflection in a puddle. Sadly, WJJE president Renzo Gracie broke the news earlier today that a shoulder injury has forced Palhares out of the match. That is not the must-read material. Renzo’s analysis of Rousimar Palhares the person, however, absolutely is:

Palhares is like a 12 years old kid. He was raised in a farm in Brazil, and you can’t picture a farm in Iowa. He’s so naive. The reality is, he has a completely different mindset. They’re born like Indians, and it’s like getting an Indian from the jungle and expect them to live here.

While this analogy is undoubtedly hilarious, we all know that Paul Harris was actually born in a radioactive swamp and raised in captivity.


(Let’s just say that the cake with a stripper in it ended in a goddamn bloodbath.) 

Much has been done to try and explain away the assholish behavior of Rousimar Palhares in the wake of AnkleGate ’13. Although “Toquinho” —  which means either “Tree Stump,” “The Brazilian Ankle-Eating Sasquatch,” or “OH GOD, I TAP! I TAP!!” depending on who you ask — has been notoriously dubbed a dirty fighter for his inability to release a submission hold when prompted, it was his knee-obliterating heel hook of Mike Pierce at Fight Night 29 that truly took the blood-filled cake, forcing the UFC to release Palhares back into the jungles of Brazil forevermore.

Recently, it was announced that Palhares would emerge from hiding to take on UFC veteran Dean Lister in a submission-only match at the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo. The MMA world reacted with equal parts fear and excitement — kind of like how Rousimar reacts when he catches his reflection in a puddle. Sadly, WJJE president Renzo Gracie broke the news earlier today that a shoulder injury has forced Palhares out of the match. That is not the must-read material. Renzo’s analysis of Rousimar Palhares the person, however, absolutely is:

Palhares is like a 12 years old kid. He was raised in a farm in Brazil, and you can’t picture a farm in Iowa. He’s so naive. The reality is, he has a completely different mindset. They’re born like Indians, and it’s like getting an Indian from the jungle and expect them to live here.

While this analogy is undoubtedly hilarious, we all know that Paul Harris was actually born in a radioactive swamp and raised in captivity.

Renzo also might want to reconsider how he uses the term “Indian.” All I’m saying is, if there are enough homeless junkie MMA fans out there to cause an uproar when Ian McCall bashes them on Twitter, there’s gotta be enough Native Americans left on this planet to take Renzo to task for insinuating that they couldn’t function in a civilized society. Although now that I think of it, the 1997 Tim Allen vehicle, Jungle 2 Jungle, does lend some credibility to Renzo’s hypothesis.

–J. Jones