UFC CEO Dana White Relives His Long battle with ‘Corrupt’ Las Vegas Culinary Union to bring MMA to New York

UFC Dana WhiteThe UFC just celebrated its 30th anniversary, but for many of those years, the Las Vegas-based fight company was…

UFC Dana White

The UFC just celebrated its 30th anniversary, but for many of those years, the Las Vegas-based fight company was not permitted to run events in every state. Most notably in New York.

It wasn’t until 2016 that the promotion was allowed to run its first event in The Empire State after years of battling with state legislators.

“The Las Vegas Culinary Union is what was keeping us out of New York because the Fertittas are a non-union casino,” Dana White explained during an appearance on the Full Send podcast with the Nelk Boys. “So these guys were spending all their member’s dues to attack the UFC and attack me personally. And as soon as the Fertitas were out, it stopped.

Dana White’s feud with Culinary Local 226 dates back to the late 2000s with the current UFC CEO blaming the 60,000-member union for using its political muscle to stop the legalization of UFC and mixed martial arts fights in New York state.

The Culinary Union had long been in a battle with Station Casinos, owned and operated by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, trying to organize the Station Casinos workers into a union. White and then-UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertita pointed to the Culinary Union’s political influence in New York and the unionization dispute over Station Casinos as the primary factor blocking the legalization of professional MMA. At the time New York was the lone state in the Union without MMA regulation.

“They had a website. UFC is bad for children and all this other sh*t,” White continued. “Just total f*cking scumbags and that’s what kept us out and the guy they were in cahoots with was a f*cking criminal. The Las Vegas culinary guy was a criminal. He ended up going to f*cking prison. So we get into New York… Seven years we’ve been in New York. We’re number one, number two, and number three all-time in Madison Square Garden. The three biggest gates ever.

“How does that d*ck taste Las Vegas Culinary Union?”

The promotion just wrapped up another event inside the world’s most famous arena which saw the rise of two new UFC champions. Alex Pereira claimed his second world title in as many weigh classes with a second-round knockout of former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka in the evening’s headliner.

Tom Aspinall claimed the interim heavyweight title with a 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event.

Watch: BJJ Black Belt Takes Down Man Sucker-Punching New Yorkers

If you choose to attack individuals on the streets of a big city, be prepared to have a BJJ black belt hanging off your back in no time. That lesson was learned by Samuel Frazier in Manhattan last week. Frazier, a 28-year-old homeless man, is accu…

If you choose to attack individuals on the streets of a big city, be prepared to have a BJJ black belt hanging off your back in no time. That lesson was learned by Samuel Frazier in Manhattan last week. Frazier, a 28-year-old homeless man, is accused of attacking and sucker-punching construction workers in the Soho shopping…

Continue Reading Watch: BJJ Black Belt Takes Down Man Sucker-Punching New Yorkers at MMA News.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk Is Back On

An awaited fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk is back on. Earlier this afternoon, news arrived that the MMA world got a new UFC 230 main event. UFC President Dana White confirmed that heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will meet top-ranked competitor Derrick Lewis on November 3 in NYC. The news confirmed a report from […]

The post Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk Is Back On appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

An awaited fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk is back on.

Earlier this afternoon, news arrived that the MMA world got a new UFC 230 main event. UFC President Dana White confirmed that heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will meet top-ranked competitor Derrick Lewis on November 3 in NYC.

The news confirmed a report from last night on the unlikely match-up. The pay-per-view (PPV) event from Madison Square Garden does feature an awaited scrap between Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz. But the event was lacking a true high-profile main event. Fight fans were perplexed when the promotion announced Valentina Shevchenko vs. Sijara Eubanks as the previous headliner.

The women’s flyweight title fight was a fine enough match in its own right. MAy argued, however, that it was far from the caliber expected to headline a PPV from MSG. The bout also put a temporary halt to the expected Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk women’s flyweight title bout at December 8’s UFC 231 from Toronto from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

That fight is back on according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who discussed the scheduling with White:

Flyweight Mix-Up

The women’s flyweight main event at UFC 230 received widespread criticism from the collective MMA world. UFC Octagon commentator Joe Rogan made headlines by claiming he didn’t know who Eubanks was.

Shevchenko already missed out on one opportunity to fight for the women’s flyweight title at September’s UFC 228. Former champion Nicco Montano missed weight and was stripped of the title she won on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

UFC 231 already features an anticipated featherweight title fight between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega. That fight was supposed has already fallen apart once. It was set for UFC 226 but was canceled when Holloway experienced bizarre medical symptoms.

Shevchenko and Jedrzejczyk have already fought in Muay Thai three times before with Shevchenko winning all three match-ups.

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Khabib’s Manager Reveals Ultra-Personal Blowup With Conor McGregor

It’s no secret that Conor McGregor is a master at getting into his opponents’ heads. That has now extended to Khabib’s manager heading into his awaited showdown with Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. McGregor finally made his first press appearance opposite Khabib at this week’s UFC 229 press conference from New York City. In an over-the-top […]

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It’s no secret that Conor McGregor is a master at getting into his opponents’ heads. That has now extended to Khabib’s manager heading into his awaited showdown with Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.

McGregor finally made his first press appearance opposite Khabib at this week’s UFC 229 press conference from New York City. In an over-the-top scene, a whiskey-drinking McGregor sounded off on a litany of topics. He blamed Khabib for his controversial New York bus attack this April. He took a few more shots at Khabib’s father Abdulmanap and even issued a few death threats at the current champ.

But the most personal of all of McGregor’s barbs was perhaps directed at Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz. After the normal staredown to end the presser, McGregor laid into Abdelaziz with a seething assessment of his personal affairs.

McGregor reportedly blasted the prominent manager by calling him a ‘terrorist’ and a ‘snitch’ among other things:

“Shut your mouth, Ali Abdelaziz! Mad terrorist. Terrorist snitch. I know a lot about you as well, you mad rat! I know a lot about you as well. You keep your mouth shut, kid. Let me take my picture. How’s Noah? How’s Noah? Huh? Yeah. Shut your mouth! Never speak about me ever in your life. Watch yourself around me because you’ll be out of here quick.”

“**** you! Fool! Don’t come at the king. Don’t ever come at the king.”

The Noah in question is a son that Abdelaziz reportedly abandoned when he became an informant for the NYPD. Abdelaziz allegedly owes $50,000 in back child support to Noah and his mother.

What Prompted It?

Abdelaziz recently revealed to Anatomy of a Fighter just what he said to McGregor to spark the personal blowup. Apparently, he just asked McGregor why he showed up to the presser with the belt when he had been stripped:

“I just said why he have belt. That’s it. I said that. Why he have belt?”

McGregor is acting more aggressive than ever before heading into UFC 229, and that’s saying a lot. There’s a mixed, highly polarized view of just what that actually means in terms of the fight.

But one thing is certain. The Irish megastar is trying to make things as personal as possible with anyone involved with Khabib in order to gain any mental advantage he can. Abdelaziz’s personal history may sound a bit seedy to those looking in from the outside.

It seems McGregor did his research to find just how deep that went. Will it help or hurt him come October?

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Undefeated Brazilian Destroyer Picking A Fight With Yoel Romero

Undefeated Brazilian destroyer is picking a fight with Yoel Romero.

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Undefeated Brazilian destroyer Paulo Costa is picking a fight with Yoel Romero on social media.

The 27-year-old Costa was set to fight Romero at the upcoming UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV) event in New York. Unfortunately the “Soldier of God” was forced out of the fight due to nagging health concerns. Romero’s timetable to return to action is unclear.

It appears Costa is getting tired of waiting for his Cuban counterpart. He took to social media to taunt Romero. “Borrachinha” going so far as to send Romero a shirtless message.

Look at Paulo Costa’s Instagram post here:

Regardless of Costa’s frustrations, he is still left without a dance partner. A match-up with Chris Weidman was explored. However, the “All American” has since been booked to fight Luke Rockhold later this year in New York.

If Costa can bide his time until early 2019, he may get his chance to fight Romero after all. Or he can just continue to take beefy shirtless selfies on social media. Either way, he wins.

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Colby Covington Wants Tyron Woodley at MSG in November

After winning the UFC’s interim welterweight championship, Colby Covington would like to face Tyron Woodley at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in November. Last night (June 9), Covington secured a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Dos Anjos in t…

After winning the UFC’s interim welterweight championship, Colby Covington would like to face Tyron Woodley at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in November. Last night (June 9), Covington secured a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Dos Anjos in the co-main event of UFC 225. The event took place at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The […]

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