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Dana White: UFC "Phasing Out" Fighter Sponsorship Deals

It was a landmark deal and the first of its kind for the UFC. But, if the words of Dana White are anything to go by, the promotion will never again sponsor one of its own fighters. Back in April, after Jon Jones lost his K-Swiss deal following the coll…

It was a landmark deal and the first of its kind for the UFC. But, if the words of Dana White are anything to go by, the promotion will never again sponsor one of its own fighters.

Back in April, after Jon Jones lost his K-Swiss deal following the collapse of its subsidiary FORM Athletics, the young light heavyweight champion was left looking for a recognised brand to take its place.

Amid dreams of Nike, the UFC took the unprecedented step to sponsor Jones himself in his fight against Rashad Evans in April.

That was a controversial move by the organisation which seemed to be playing favourites between two of its own fighters.

Evans at the time was philosophical about his paymasters choosing to back his opponent, but since Jones switched to Nike after the fight, White has made it clear that it will be unlikely that the promotion ever makes the move to brand one of its own fighters again.

The UFC president was speaking at a post-fight media scrum following UFC on Fuel 5, which took place in Nottingham, England, on Saturday when he said:

“I’m still not a big fan of [the UFC sponsoring fighters]. I still don’t like it. I hope we’re on our way to phasing it out. I don’t like it. It was a decision that was made and I don’t think it was the best decision, so, we’ll see what happens.”

That move will surely settle any controversies of conflicts of interests. Especially among fighters who are already concerned that the promotion is playing favourites with its own athletes.

Jones has since gone on to sign a lucrative global sponsorship deal with Nike, which in itself is a landmark move for any UFC fighter. With a brand like Nike getting involved with MMA, it hardly seems necessary for the UFC to try and step in and fill any sponsorship holes itself.

Especially considering the UFC brand is all over Jones already—he is, after all, the UFC light heavyweight champion. Not to mention he exclusively fights for the UFC promotion.

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Dana White Calls a Truce with Jon Jones’ Trainer Greg Jackson

UFC president Dana White has never been short on words when it comes to MMA coach Greg Jackson. However, during the post-fight media scrum after the UFC on Fuel 5 event last Saturday, White said he made a deal with Jackson fighter Jon Jones to stop tal…

UFC president Dana White has never been short on words when it comes to MMA coach Greg Jackson. However, during the post-fight media scrum after the UFC on Fuel 5 event last Saturday, White said he made a deal with Jackson fighter Jon Jones to stop talking about his trainer.

The deal between White and Jones came in the aftermath of Jones’ decision not to face Chael Sonnen as a late replacement for Dan Henderson at UFC 151 back in September. That decision led to the cancellation of the first UFC event in the promotion’s history, and White laid the blame squarely on Jackson.

Calling Jackson a “f****** sport killer” for his decision to advise Jones not to take the fight, White said last month the trainer was a “weirdo” who should never be interviewed “except from a psychiatrist”.

Such attacks caused a rift between the UFC and its light heavyweight champion Jones, who himself said he felt like “a piece of meat” by the way the promotion treated him after UFC 151 was cancelled.

Clearly the two sides have had a lot of patching up to do, and in a meeting following Jones’ successful title defence at UFC 152 against Vitor Belfort (during which fight Jones severely injured his arm), White hinted at a secret deal between the two which includes the UFC president keeping his mouth shut when it came to Jackson.

“So when I sat down with Jon Jones and we talked I made a deal with Jon,” said White. “So I’m not going to say anything about Greg Jackson. I think you guys know my opinion and how I feel. It hasn’t changed. But I’m not going to talk about Greg Jackson.”

White said that the deal meant he would keep his mouth shut about Jackson, despite repeated conflict between the two men.

And those conflicts have a deep history.

For one, there’s nothing that annoys White more than the practice of MMA camps refusing to face their fighters against each other. That situation came to a head back in April for Jackson’s camp, when Rashad Evans stepped up to challenge his former training partner Jones for the light heavyweight title.

It was one of the bitterest feuds in UFC history and led to Evans leaving Jackson’s gym in New Mexico to set up his own camp – the Blackzilians. At the time White said Jackson is purely a “businessman” and didn’t owe his loyalty to either fighter.

“Some of these fighters, who ought to know better but don’t listen to that [expletive] and don’t take it for the crock of [expletive] that it is,” sad White in April (H/T MMA Mania)

White reiterated those sentiments on Saturday, pointing out that his conflict with Jackson is nothing personal, but purely business.

“It’s not like I dislike the guy. I don’t dislike him at all. It’s just his philosophies and his business… not his philosophies, his business conflicts with my business, that’s the big problem.”

So for now, White will stay quiet when it comes to matters of Jackson. However, he couldn’t help but get one more jab in during the scrum, when he added: “I do believe Jon Jones arm would be better right now if he didn’t listen to Greg Jackson and that’s all I’m going to say.”

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: Post-Fight Matchmaking for the Entire Fight Card

Stefan Struve has already had many ups and downs in his MMA career at 24 years old, but a win over Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fuel TV 5 has given the towering Dutchman a four-fight winning streak, the longest of his UFC career.With a big win in a main even…

With a big win in a main event, Struve is almost guaranteed a matchup with a heavyweight contender. Struve has shown holes in his striking defense when given opportunities to compete against top heavyweights in the past, but he showed improvement in that area against Miocic.

After being forced to stand with Junior dos Santos and Roy Nelson, it would be interesting to see how Struve handles a different kind of test with his pending step up in competition. Let’s take a look at who could be next for “Skyscraper” and the rest of the UFC on Fuel TV 5 competitors.

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Dana White Would "Absolutely" Have Ronda Rousey in the UFC

Dana White has made it no secret that he is a huge fan of Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Not only has he been seen sporting a Rousey t-shirt during UFC events, he’s also been seen out atten0ding TV show premier…

On Saturday night, following the UFC on Fuel 5 event in Nottingham, England, White took a step further and said that he would “absolutely” have Rousey fight in the UFC—becoming the first woman in the promotion’s history to do so.

During the post-fight media scrum, the UFC president reiterated that he still did not believe that there were enough talented women MMA fighters to create a whole division, but he could foresee a one off event with Rousey on the card:

“There’s no secret, I’ve been pretty honest about my feelings for Ronda Rousey,” said White. “I think she’s f****** awesome. I think she’s mean, I think she’s nasty. And she’s a real fighter and I like watching her fight. So I think there’s going to be fun fights with Ronda.”

“You’ve got Cyborg, and if she could move down or Ronda could move up. Whatever happens there, there are still some fun fights for Ronda and some of the other women too.”

“You’d have to do some one offs. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens, I mean they fight for Strikeforce, we’ll see what happens. I’ve said publicly, I would absolutely positively bring Ronda Rousey into the UFC. Yes.”

Rousey burst onto the MMA scene last year, going undefeated in four fights and talking her way to a title shot against Miesha Tate in Strikeforce. Rousey made short work of her opponent, finishing Tate with her trademark armbar in the first round and going on to become a superstar of the sport.

It’s a feat that has not failed to capture the attention of White, who believes she’s accomplished in one year what few in the men’s game have ever accomplished.

“She’s already done things we couldn’t get done,” White told the press in Nottingham. “I mean she’s been on talk shows we could never f****** get on. She’s done magazines and sold covers of magazines… I heard she was the best-selling cover of ESPN the Body Issue… My point is, she is one of those breakthrough stars and you guys saw I went to the Sons of Anarchy premier with her. We got out of the car, the whole f****** place erupted. Like she was on the show or something.”

Rousey’s last fight was her first title defence against Sarah Kaufman back in August. Since then, the former Olympian has pulled no punches in calling out fallen star of women’s MMA, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

The two are undoubtedly the biggest names in women’s MMA, with Cyborg still considered by many the best pound-for-pound female fighter in the world.

With the interest White is showing in Rousey, and the hype the two fighters are generating, there is every possibility you might see a Rousey vs. Cyborg match on a UFC card.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: 5 Possibilities for Dan Hardy’s Next Opponent

At UFC on Fuel TV 5, Dan Hardy used a widening array of skills to stymie Amir Sadollah and capture a unanimous decision victory in front of a hometown crowd in Nottingham, England. It was Hardy’s second win in a row after he lost four straight and foun…

But now, we’re talking not about his job stability but rather his next challenge. It’s a new day for Dan Hardy, or should we say Dan Hardy 2.0?

Here are five possibilities for “The Outlaw’s” next opponent.

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Stefan Struve: Will His Youth Come Back to Haunt Him in the UFC?

Stefan Struve is one of the most physically gifted heavyweight fighters in the UFC, but will his young age wind up hurting him in the long run?When you break it down, it’s really a question of how quickly and efficiently Struve can develop his sta…

Stefan Struve is one of the most physically gifted heavyweight fighters in the UFC, but will his young age wind up hurting him in the long run?

When you break it down, it’s really a question of how quickly and efficiently Struve can develop his stand-up game. He might have a good chin, but right now, there’s no telling whether it’ll get more or less resilient to the shots he’s been taking in his fights.

Unlike most skills in mixed martial arts, a strong chin isn’t something you can develop or train—you either have it or you don’t.

That’s been a consistent factor with many MMA fighters who either suffer lots of knockout loses or rarely go down to strikes.

But one thing that can happen to a strong chin is deterioration.

Like a stone getting shaved down by the elements over time, a fighter who continually takes shots to the head can end up having a chin that goes from granite to cookie dough. Just look at Andrei Arlovski, Keith Jardine or Chuck Liddell.

For Struve, the problem is that he started MMA at such a young age in the biggest division possible.

Considering his athletic history, the issue becomes even more pronounced.

Struve played football in his early childhood and made his amateur MMA debut at 16 years old. From his early string of submission wins over the years (most of them ending in the first round), it seems that Struve smartly used his massive size to snare and finish opponents quickly.

But ever since entering the UFC, Struve has suffered three brutal knockout losses, with many of his other fights turning into flinch-worthy wars of attrition.

Granted, Struve survives these wars more often than not.

But there’s still an overhanging truth in all of this—Struve is still incredibly young to be taking such punishment in his fighting career, and he shouldn’t have to do so.

If Jon Jones can keep opponents from getting to him at 6’4″ with 84.5 inches of reach, most heavyweights shouldn’t be able to get inside on the “The Skyscraper”—a monstrous 7’0” giant carrying the same wingspan—with such consistency.

Unless Stefan Struve learns how to better protect his chin, there’s a legitimate risk that he’ll start getting put to sleep in situations where he merely gets stunned. Hopefully, someone teaches him how—before it’s too late.

[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]

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