Tag: UFC firings

Let the Purge Begin: UFC Releases 17 Fighters From Its Roster, 33 More to Come


(via Getty)

Even as someone who follows the sports as closely as I do, I would be remiss to say that I could regularly identify more fighters on the average UFC card than I could not these days. With over 550 fighters on their roster, the UFC is becoming an increasingly sink-or-swim promotion with little room for error, which doesn’t exactly help fighters still in need of development upon being signed by the world’s premiere organization (ie. TUF stars, unheralded prospects, late replacement opponents, etc.). Nor does it help mid-level MMA bloggers keep track of who’s coming and going.

Earlier this month, the UFC released TUF 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem along with Elias Silverio, Jorge Oliveira, and Nazareno Malegarie, which more or less proves my point (of those four, I only recognize the first two). Late last week, TUF 19 middleweight winner Eddie Gordon was cut following 3 straight losses, as was Christos Giagos (1-2), Matt Van Buren (0-2), and Roger Narvaez (1-2). The most interesting thing to come out of that bit of news was Giagos’ claim that he was released as a result of the UFC “over-booking” their roster and needing to make some cuts as a result, which coincided with an unconfirmed Swedish report that the UFC would be cutting a total of 50 fighters.

Marcus Brimage and Chris Clements announced their releases shortly thereafter, and today, UFCFIGHTERSINFO announced the deletion of some 17 more profiles from the UFC’s fighter database, meaning almost surely that said fighters are no longer under UFC contract. Those fighters are…

The post Let the Purge Begin: UFC Releases 17 Fighters From Its Roster, 33 More to Come appeared first on Cagepotato.


(via Getty)

Even as someone who follows the sports as closely as I do, I would be remiss to say that I could regularly identify more fighters on the average UFC card than I could not these days. With over 550 fighters on their roster, the UFC is becoming an increasingly sink-or-swim promotion with little room for error, which doesn’t exactly help fighters still in need of development upon being signed by the world’s premiere organization (ie. TUF stars, unheralded prospects, late replacement opponents, etc.). Nor does it help mid-level MMA bloggers keep track of who’s coming and going.

Earlier this month, the UFC released TUF 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem along with Elias Silverio, Jorge Oliveira, and Nazareno Malegarie, which more or less proves my point (of those four, I only recognize the first two). Late last week, TUF 19 middleweight winner Eddie Gordon was cut following 3 straight losses, as was Christos Giagos (1-2), Matt Van Buren (0-2), and Roger Narvaez (1-2). The most interesting thing to come out of that bit of news was Giagos’ claim that he was released as a result of the UFC “over-booking” their roster and needing to make some cuts as a result, which coincided with an unconfirmed Swedish report that the UFC would be cutting a total of 50 fighters.

Marcus Brimage and Chris Clements announced their releases shortly thereafter, and today, UFCFIGHTERSINFO announced the deletion of some 17 more profiles from the UFC’s fighter database, meaning almost surely that said fighters are no longer under UFC contract. Those fighters are…

Ivan Jorge: 2-2 UFC record, most recently submitted by Joseph Duffy at Fight Night 72

Francisco Trevino: aka the guy who showed up heavy to his fight with Sage Northcutt, got KO’d inside a minute, pushed Herb Dean, then tested positive for marijuana. Literally no one could have seen this coming.

Pawel Pawlak: 1-2, last dropped a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards at Fight Night 72

Hernani Perpetuo: 0-2, last dropped a UD to Tim Means at UFC on FOX 12

Vagner Rocha: 0-1 in his second UFC stint, 1-4 overall, choked out by Jake Matthews at Fight Night 55

David Michaud: 1-2, last suffered a third round submission loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier at UFC 186

Naoyuki Kotani: 0-3, with losses to Norman Parke, Yan Cabral, and Kajan Johnson

Amir Sadollah: The charismatic TUF 7 has been sadly plagued by injuries for the majority of his career, which he has fought exclusively in the UFC. After returning from a two-year layoff in 2014, Sadollah dropped a unanimous decision to Yoshihiro Akiyama and has not competed since.

Luke Zachrich: 1-2, was last submitted by Daniel Kelly at Fight Night 55

TJ Waldburger: 1-3 in his last 4 (4-4 overall), has not competed since a TKO loss to Mike Pyle in February of last year

William Macario: 1-3, was infamously KO’d by a Matt Dwyer superman punch at Fight Night 61

Leonardo Mafra: 1-2, was last TKO’d by Steven Ray at Fight Night 72

Ron Stallings: 1-3, disqualified in his last bout after illegally up-kicking Joe Riggs

Roger Zapata: 0-1, suffered a hand injury Shinsho Anzai at Fight Night 75 in September.

Joe Merritt: 0-1, having dropped a decision to Alex Oliveira and posed for this hilariously shameful photo.

Lewis Gonzalez: 0-1, dropped a unanimous decision to Leandro Silva at Fight Night 70.

Perhaps most surprisingly, Soa Palelei also announced his retirement from the sport amidst the rash of firings. While I wouldn’t imagine that he was on the chopping block, having gone 4-2 in his second UFC stint with 4 finishes, he was on the heels of a tough loss to Bigfoot Silva, so who knows. Regardless, “The Hulk” took to Twitter to thank the UFC for the opportunities they gave him.

I want to take an opportunity to officially announce my retirement from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Thank you to the UFC, Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Joe Silva for giving me a second chance to fight for the organization. I’ve had a great time, but feel it’s time to focus on my family and other career interests. After several months of thought and discussion with my family and my team, we realize our future includes many things in MMA, but active competition in the sport is no longer one of them. This isn’t goodbye, as I will still be very much involved in the sport but just not as a fighter. I want to help further MMA around the world and give my contribution to the sport. I know that I have, and will continue to contribute much to the growth of our sport outside of the Octagon. Stay tuned guys as there is still so much more to come from “The Hulk” ?#?WatchThisSpace? ?#?MuchLove

Let’s hope that Palelei’s retirement will lift the inexplicable ban on visiting sick kids that had been placed on him by his home country. Seriously, WTF Australia?

The post Let the Purge Begin: UFC Releases 17 Fighters From Its Roster, 33 More to Come appeared first on Cagepotato.

And Now He’s Fired: Paulo Thiago Cut by UFC Following Three Straight Losses


(Paulo Thiago gets cracked by Sean Spencer during their fight in September. / Photo via Getty)

After losing his last three fights — and seven out of his last nine — Brazilian welterweight veteran Paulo Thiago has been released by the UFC. Thiago most recently competed at last month’s UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, where he lost a unanimous decision to Sean Spencer on the prelims.

Thiago made his UFC debut in February 2009 as a 10-0 prospect, carrying a rad backstory as a B.O.P.E. supercop. He was immediately thrown to the wolves, drawing Josh Koscheck as his debut opponent at UFC 95. Koscheck was a heavy favorite to beat the unheralded newcomer. Instead, this happened:

Thiago dropped a decision to Jon Fitch in his next outing, but then posted back to back wins against Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick. Suddenly, Paulo Thiago seemed like a legitimate threat in the welterweight division. Unfortunately, that was essentially his career peak in the UFC. He would never win two consecutive fights again, and the opponents he lost to went from top-of-the-food-chain (Martin Kampmann, Diego Sanchez) to pretty dangerous (Siyar Bahadurzada, Dong Hyun Kim) to downright obscure (Brandon Thatch, Gasan Umalatov). The last time people were talking about Paulo Thiago, it was because of his gig working security at the World Cup.

Before his latest loss to Sean Spencer, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, but of course, UFC contracts can be ended at any time by the promoter, because they’re not exactly “contracts” in the traditional sense; don’t get me started. Good luck with your next gig, Paulo.


(Paulo Thiago gets cracked by Sean Spencer during their fight in September. / Photo via Getty)

After losing his last three fights — and seven out of his last nine — Brazilian welterweight veteran Paulo Thiago has been released by the UFC. Thiago most recently competed at last month’s UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, where he lost a unanimous decision to Sean Spencer on the prelims.

Thiago made his UFC debut in February 2009 as a 10-0 prospect, carrying a rad backstory as a B.O.P.E. supercop. He was immediately thrown to the wolves, drawing Josh Koscheck as his debut opponent at UFC 95. Koscheck was a heavy favorite to beat the unheralded newcomer. Instead, this happened:

Thiago dropped a decision to Jon Fitch in his next outing, but then posted back to back wins against Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick. Suddenly, Paulo Thiago seemed like a legitimate threat in the welterweight division. Unfortunately, that was essentially his career peak in the UFC. He would never win two consecutive fights again, and the opponents he lost to went from top-of-the-food-chain (Martin Kampmann, Diego Sanchez) to pretty dangerous (Siyar Bahadurzada, Dong Hyun Kim) to downright obscure (Brandon Thatch, Gasan Umalatov). The last time people were talking about Paulo Thiago, it was because of his gig working security at the World Cup.

Before his latest loss to Sean Spencer, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, but of course, UFC contracts can be ended at any time by the promoter, because they’re not exactly “contracts” in the traditional sense; don’t get me started. Good luck with your next gig, Paulo.

Thiago Silva Released From UFC Contract (Again) After Disturbing Videos Surface


(Photo via UFC.com)

When it rains, it pours. The UFC has reconsidered its position on Thiago Silva, releasing the light-heavyweight from his contract following new videos released by his ex-wife Thaysa. Here’s the official statement from UFC.com:

Thiago Silva was released from his UFC contract on Feb. 7 due to his arrest by police in South Florida. The charges against Silva were dropped by the Broward County District Attorney’s office and Silva was re-signed to the UFC earlier this month. Based on new information received today in the form of video and audio evidence, Silva has been terminated from his UFC contract.

And yes, that’s the entire statement. So once again, we’ll fill in the blanks. Earlier today, Globo.com published a video provided by Thiago Silva’s ex-wife, which shows an agitated Silva carrying a gun and making paranoid accusations about Thaysa “hiding a guy up there.” BloodyElbow has a translation of the exchange, as well as another video that allegedly shows Silva under the influence of cocaine.

In other words: Embarrassing video evidence needed to go public before the UFC decided to do the right thing. Huh. Why does that sound familiar?

Thaysa also explained to Globo why she moved to Brazil and stopped cooperating with the aggravated assault/battery case against her ex-husband:


(Photo via UFC.com)

When it rains, it pours. The UFC has reconsidered its position on Thiago Silva, releasing the light-heavyweight from his contract following new videos released by his ex-wife Thaysa. Here’s the official statement from UFC.com:

Thiago Silva was released from his UFC contract on Feb. 7 due to his arrest by police in South Florida. The charges against Silva were dropped by the Broward County District Attorney’s office and Silva was re-signed to the UFC earlier this month. Based on new information received today in the form of video and audio evidence, Silva has been terminated from his UFC contract.

And yes, that’s the entire statement. So once again, we’ll fill in the blanks. Earlier today, Globo.com published a video provided by Thiago Silva’s ex-wife, which shows an agitated Silva carrying a gun and making paranoid accusations about Thaysa “hiding a guy up there.” BloodyElbow has a translation of the exchange, as well as another video that allegedly shows Silva under the influence of cocaine.

In other words: Embarrassing video evidence needed to go public before the UFC decided to do the right thing. Huh. Why does that sound familiar?

Thaysa also explained to Globo why she moved to Brazil and stopped cooperating with the aggravated assault/battery case against her ex-husband:

“I’ve lived 13 years beside him. I’ve worked so he could train, I invested in his career even before he could think to be an MMA fighter. I was his foundation and I was assaulted, had an abortion due a beating that he gave me. But I thought that he was going to change. Because of my love, I didn’t report his acts to the authorities. We were unbeatable together, I’ve always thought that he could change, I used to say that it was because of his camps and his upcoming fights. But he never changed.”

“He had always had drug issues. I’ve always thought that it was because his childhood problems that he didn’t change. But things got worse since 2012. Cocaine, molly and marijuana started to be common in his life. He even made a bar of our house, he get turned on cocaine until morning and had to drink at 7 a.m. trying to sleep. I just lived a nightmare.”

“I’m still afraid. Cause I, since the beginning, told the State that I had everything against him, that they had to organize. The State just said they would use it in court. But over there (US) everything takes a lot of time, unlike us Brazilians, we want to solve everything immediately. I felt used and unprotected, while Thiago’s managers paid a lot of money for his defense and coerced me, so everything got rough for me… where I lived, my car, my dogs … Wow, they made my life a hell.”

“We’ve come (her and her boyfriend) to Abu Dhabi. I’m working with what I love to do. Once the tragedy happened, I reported everything in the therapy that I was doing in ‘Women in Distress’. Even the detective knew that I wanted to move here, I couldn’t lose the opportunity to start over.”

So…Rumble Johnson and Thiago Silva get kicked out of the UFC for domestic violence, and Wanderei Silva quits out of anger. What a crazy-ass day.

And Now They’re Fired: Pat Healy, TUF 16 Winner Colton Smith, + More


(You just keep your surfer boy hand gestures away from my daughter, pothead! Photo via Getty.)

Ever since being screwed out of his UFC 159 win over Jim Miller (and the $130,000 in bonuses that came with it) due to a positive marijuana test (a.k.a some old bullshit), Pat Healy has seen some rough times. He’s dropped his past four contests to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Bobby Green, Jorge Masvidal, and Gleison Tibau, and while none of those were exactly gimme fights, Healy’s stock in the lightweight division has plummeted nonetheless. Unfortunately, today brings news that “Bam Bam” has been released from the UFC in light of his four-fight skid.

The losing streak seems all the more surprising given Healy’s previous run under the Strikeforce banner, which saw him score five straight wins and earn a title shot against Gil Melendez (that was eventually cancelled when the latter went down with an injury). Tough luck, kid. Here’s hoping Healy can rebound in a big way when the WSOF inevitably scoops him up.

In somewhat less surprising pink slip news, TUF 16 winner Colton Smith has been fired following his lightning quick submission loss to the Wikipedia-less Carlos Diego Ferreira at Fight Night 44 last month. Since defeating Mike Ricci to win the TUF 16 trophy back in December of 2012, Smith has dropped three straight to Robert Whittaker, Michael Chiesa, and Ferreira, all by stoppage. His most recent loss dropped his professional record to 3-4, or 6-4 if you’re the promotion attempting to make their reality show winners look like above-average fighters.

In other firing news…


(You just keep your surfer boy hand gestures away from my daughter, pothead! Photo via Getty.)

Ever since being screwed out of his UFC 159 win over Jim Miller (and the $130,000 in bonuses that came with it) due to a positive marijuana test (a.k.a some old bullshit), Pat Healy has seen some rough times. He’s dropped his past four contests to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Bobby Green, Jorge Masvidal, and Gleison Tibau, and while none of those were exactly gimme fights, Healy’s stock in the lightweight division has plummeted nonetheless. Unfortunately, today brings news that “Bam Bam” has been released from the UFC in light of his four-fight skid.

The losing streak seems all the more surprising given Healy’s previous run under the Strikeforce banner, which saw him score five straight wins and earn a title shot against Gil Melendez (that was eventually cancelled when the latter went down with an injury). Tough luck, kid. Here’s hoping Healy can rebound in a big way when the WSOF inevitably scoops him up.

In somewhat less surprising pink slip news, TUF 16 winner Colton Smith has been fired following his lightning quick submission loss to the Wikipedia-less Carlos Diego Ferreira at Fight Night 44 last month. Since defeating Mike Ricci to win the TUF 16 trophy back in December of 2012, Smith has dropped three straight to Robert Whittaker, Michael Chiesa, and Ferreira, all by stoppage. His most recent loss dropped his professional record to 3-4, or 6-4 if you’re the promotion attempting to make their reality show winners look like above-average fighters.

In addition to the release of Healy and Smith, the UFC has announced the release of three other fighters. Below are their names, followed by our reaction in gif form.

Estevan Payan: 0-3 in the UFC, with stoppage losses to Alex White, Robbie Peralta, and a decision loss to Jeremy Stephens. Payan is perhaps best known for falling victim to the *first* Bellator spinning backfist heard ’round the world.

Chris Indich: 0-2 in the UFC, with losses coming to Richard Walsh (via UD) at the TUF Nations Finale and Vik Grujic (via TKO) at Fight Night 43. I honestly have no idea who any of the people I just mentioned are.

Dave Galera: 0-1, dropped a decision to ROYSTON F*CKING WEE at Fight Night 34 back in January. ROYSTON WEE, YOU GUYS!

–J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Brandon Vera Axed by UFC (Again), Following 16-Fight Stint With Promotion


(A fan art tribute to a legendary broken nose, by FLYD.)

Though it’s not entirely clear when the axe came down, Fox Sports has confirmed that UFC heavyweight/light-heavyweight Brandon Vera was released from the promotion sometime after his TKO loss to Ben Rothwell last August. It was Vera’s second consecutive defeat, following a previous KO at the hands of Shogun Rua, and it dropped his overall UFC record to 8-7 with one no-contest.

Any post-mortem of Brandon Vera’s career has to focus on what a disappointment it turned out to be. (I’m not trying to be a dick, here; I bet Vera feels the same way.) This is a guy who went from hot-shot contender to hapless journeyman seemingly overnight. The Fox Sports article summarizes it well:

Vera burst upon the scene in Oct. 2005, defeating Fabiano Scherner via TKO in the first of four consecutive victories, a streak that emboldened him to infamously promise that he would hold two UFC title belts at the same time.

He never even fought for the title.

Vera was at one time slated to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, but a contract dispute put his career on ice in the fall of 2006. By the time it was resolved, nearly a year had gone by, and Vera was never able to recapture his previous magic and reach the high bar he’d set for himself.

By late 2006, Vera had every right to carry a big ego. He had a flawless pro record of 8-0 with all wins by stoppage, and was fresh off a 69-second TKO of former champ Frank Mir, who was struggling to make a comeback at the time (and eventually succeeded). As it turned out, Mir was the last notable opponent that Vera managed to beat. And if you wanted to be brutally honest about it, you could argue that Mir is the only notable opponent that Vera has ever beaten.


(A fan art tribute to a legendary broken nose, by FLYD.)

Though it’s not entirely clear when the axe came down, Fox Sports has confirmed that UFC heavyweight/light-heavyweight Brandon Vera was released from the promotion sometime after his TKO loss to Ben Rothwell last August. It was Vera’s second consecutive defeat, following a previous KO at the hands of Shogun Rua, and it dropped his overall UFC record to 8-7 with one no-contest.

Any post-mortem of Brandon Vera’s career has to focus on what a disappointment it turned out to be. (I’m not trying to be a dick, here; I bet Vera feels the same way.) This is a guy who went from hot-shot contender to hapless journeyman seemingly overnight. The Fox Sports article summarizes it well:

Vera burst upon the scene in Oct. 2005, defeating Fabiano Scherner via TKO in the first of four consecutive victories, a streak that emboldened him to infamously promise that he would hold two UFC title belts at the same time.

He never even fought for the title.

Vera was at one time slated to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, but a contract dispute put his career on ice in the fall of 2006. By the time it was resolved, nearly a year had gone by, and Vera was never able to recapture his previous magic and reach the high bar he’d set for himself.

By late 2006, Vera had every right to carry a big ego. He had a flawless pro record of 8-0 with all wins by stoppage, and was fresh off a 69-second TKO of former champ Frank Mir, who was struggling to make a comeback at the time (and eventually succeeded). As it turned out, Mir was the last notable opponent that Vera managed to beat. And if you wanted to be brutally honest about it, you could argue that Mir is the only notable opponent that Vera has ever beaten.

Vera built his reputation by gobbling up un-spectacular sluggers like Mike Whitehead and Justin Eilers. After the Mir fight, reality struck. Maybe the year-long contract dispute stole his fire in some way — Dana White blamed Vera’s decline on Vera earning too much money, of course — but the truth is, Vera was forced to jump up in competition, and his hype was quickly exposed once he got up there.

Tim Sylvia busted him up. Fabricio Werdum smashed him within one round. Vera fled the heavyweight division and tried his luck at 205. Keith Jardine and Randy Couture edged him out in close decisions. Jon Jones destroyed his face, and UFC fans rejoiced, because don’t we all love to see a cocky bastard get his comeuppance? (This was back before Jon Jones became a cocky bastard himself.) Along the way, Vera was fed Reese Andy and Mike Patt, to prevent him from spiraling completely out of orbit, and he managed to win a decision over TUF 8 vet Krzysztof Soszynski.

In essence, Vera found semi-regular work as a can-crusher, and became a cautionary tale about buying into your own hype. But in recent years, his story picked up an uncomfortable subplot: drugs. Specifically, all of his opponents being on them.

Brandon Vera spent New Year’s Day 2011 being publicly slapped around by scary Brazilian 205-er Thiago Silva, en route to a unanimous decision loss. It was Vera’s third-straight defeat, and the UFC quickly fired him. Then, a month-and-a-half later, the UFC unfired him after it was revealed that Silva submitted a fake urine sample to hide his steroid use. Vera had been granted a stay of execution, and returned in October 2011 to win a forgettable decision against another TUF 8 castmember, Eliot Marshall.

Then, the ass-kicking against Shogun. Then, a follow-up ass-kicking from Ben Rothwell back at heavyweight, in which Rothwell decided to break the tension in round three by going completely insane:

And then, the inevitable news that Rothwell had failed his drug test. This time, elevated testosterone was the culprit — but unlike the fallout that Silva faced after botching his drug test, Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, and the fight result was officially kept as a loss for Vera. More importantly, the UFC decided not to give him another chance.

Despite Vera’s competitive shortcomings, the 8+ years that he spent in the Octagon virtually guarantees that he’ll be fielding offers from other promotions. (He already has the right attitude for Bellator.) We’ll keep you posted on where he ends up.

Jason High Released From UFC After Shoving Referee at UFC Fight Night 42


(At least he’s taking it well. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The axe has finally dropped on Jason High, following his regrettable shoving of referee Kevin Mulhall at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 42. UFC president Dana White confirmed High’s firing in yesterday’s installment of “The Download,” his weekly address on UFC.com. Though White didn’t watch the “Henderson vs. Khabilov” event live due to illness (more on that later), he acted swiftly as soon as he heard what happened:

“What I did find out is that I guess that Jason High kid got up and pushed a referee – he’s cut,” White said in disgust. “I’m going to cut him. I look at that the way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever f****** touch a referee, ever. You’re done here. He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”

I feel bad for High. It’s not like he went full-Yvel on Mulhall, and yet he could be shut out of the UFC for life, for a single bad decision. On the other hand, an example needs to be set that you never put your hands on an official, no matter how much you think the stoppage sucked. On the other, other hand:

“Say that Chael Sonnen was the one that lightly pushed the ref and that Jason High failed the drug test. Does Dana instantly fire Chael and then go on TV to publicly defend High?”

There’s some truth to that. Maybe High’s biggest crime was simply being expendable.

Dana also confirmed in the “Download” column that the UFC will be paying Ross Pearson his win bonus after Pearson was blatantly robbed against Diego Sanchez, and hoped that the judge who scored the fight 30-27 for Sanchez (Jeff Collins) never judges another professional fight. Also, he was struggling with allergies while relaxing in Maine and buying cars while drunk:


(At least he’s taking it well. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The axe has finally dropped on Jason High, following his regrettable shoving of referee Kevin Mulhall at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 42. UFC president Dana White confirmed High’s firing in yesterday’s installment of “The Download,” his weekly address on UFC.com. Though White didn’t watch the “Henderson vs. Khabilov” event live due to illness (more on that later), he acted swiftly as soon as he heard what happened:

“What I did find out is that I guess that Jason High kid got up and pushed a referee – he’s cut,” White said in disgust. “I’m going to cut him. I look at that the way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever f****** touch a referee, ever. You’re done here. He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”

I feel bad for High. It’s not like he went full-Yvel on Mulhall, and yet he could be shut out of the UFC for life, for a single bad decision. On the other hand, an example needs to be set that you never put your hands on an official, no matter how much you think the stoppage sucked. On the other, other hand:

“Say that Chael Sonnen was the one that lightly pushed the ref and that Jason High failed the drug test. Does Dana instantly fire Chael and then go on TV to publicly defend High?”

There’s some truth to that. Maybe High’s biggest crime was simply being expendable.

Dana also confirmed in the “Download” column that the UFC will be paying Ross Pearson his win bonus after Pearson was blatantly robbed against Diego Sanchez, and hoped that the judge who scored the fight 30-27 for Sanchez (Jeff Collins) never judges another professional fight. Also, he was struggling with allergies while relaxing in Maine and buying cars while drunk:

“I was f***** up Saturday night because I had real bad allergies, so I took some Benadryl and it knocked me out,” he said Tuesday afternoon on his first day back in the office after a short weekend family getaway to his hometown in Maine.

But as White drifted off into a medicine-induced sleep, something jolted him back to consciousness on the TV.

“My eyes swelled up like I just got the s**t kicked out of me,” White explained. “It snowed in May in Maine, so they’re just going through Spring now. There was so much Pollen on my car, my eyes swelled up. So I drove into the pharmacy and the lady is like, ‘You need to take some Benadryl.’ I had never taken Benadryl in my life — I always thought it was some s**t you rubbed on your skin.

“So I asked her, ‘What happens if I drink with these?’ She said, ‘It’s going to make you more tired.’ So I took two. I drank 3/4 of a beer and I barely made it to my bedroom walking. I laid down for a few minutes and I’m dead — hallucinating, dreaming crazy s**t”

We sincerely hope that Dana is back to 100% after that traumatic experience, and that he gets some good use out of his new car. Oh, and that Jason High finds another job. That too.