…it isn’t going away so easily, not even after the UFC took it off YouTube. For one, it’s still up elsewhere, such as Break, and for another, word has spread. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (known commonly as GLAAD) has denounced White’s use of the word “faggots” to describe the anonymous sources in Loretta Hunt’s article, and they’re calling on him to apologize publicly.
In the MMA blogosphere, MMA Payout wonders aloud whether sponsors like Bud Light and Harley-Davidson really want to be associated with that rant, and Cage Writer’s Maggie Hendricks reminds everyone that women also watch (and cover) the UFC, and generally don’t really like to hear men calling other women bitches.
You know the deal by now, Potato Nation. Dana White’s first video blog for UFC 144 takes a look back at the aftermath of UFC 143, as has become the norm. So we’re going to skip the fancy introduction and get right into it.
(1:43) - Matt Riddle has to be one of the nicest guys in the UFC, bar none. Talk about a guy that loves his job. And a metaphorical fist bump is due to Henry Martinez for putting on a hell of a fight on such short notice. DW states that he originally thought this match-up was “the worst mismatch in UFC History.” How quickly we all forgot Silva/Leites.
(2:44) - Apparently Bruce Leroy kicked Figueroa so hard in the balls that he forgot how many times he kicked Figueroa in the balls. Irony? Either way, we agree that a two point deduction seemed a little harsh. Then again, Caceres likely destroyed any of Figueroa’s future plans to have children, so we’ll call it even.
By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”
Let’s get right to the highlights.
(0:45) -Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.
(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.
With "Evans vs. Machida" signaling the end of a five-week UFC drought, the anticipation and nervous energy runs high in this video-blog-recap of Wednesday and Thursday. President White is in good spirits, checking out the new, heavier version of the UFC championship belt, cruising around in the ultimate guidomobile, and torching some poor schmuck who had the misfortune of showing up in a paisley shirt. ("You and the Revolution have a good day. Say hi to Apollonia for me.") Later, he presses palms at Thursday’s press conference, and has a very cordial phone conversation with Chuck Liddell, who’s his usual lucid self. I hope you’re all re-hydrating, because it’s about to go down…
Dana White pays a hungover visit to the Arnold Classic in the latest edition of his UFC 96 video blog. Then he gets taken by an arm-wrestling shark. The whole thing looks like a set-up to me but Dana can afford to give away some tickets to this one, and he forgets all about it once Buster Douglas shows up.
Other highlights include Joe Rogan telling stories that involve Joe Rogan being high, Dana White making dreams come true, and Matt Hughes grab-assing. Never a dull moment.
You know, I may not have a fleet of G5 airplanes or an insanely successful, multi-million dollar company at my disposal, although I totally could if it wasn’t for my bum knee. I may not be part of a secret group of rich adulterers that smash the hottest trim in shanty towns across the globe, or show up to Hollywood premiers with Ronda Rousey on my arm — again, I’m blaming the bum knee. But despite all this, I take solace in the fact that — regardless of whether you’re UFC President Dana White or Skeeter the local angry drunk – as men, we all like to let loose in pretty much the same fashion. Mainly, getting our friends to embarrass themselves and blowing shit up.
So goes the latest Danavlog (seen above), in which The Baldfather grants us behind-the-scenes access to the one day off he gets each year. And oddly enough, DW doesn’t spend it getting a mani-pedi and eating veal that was killed in front of him like most of his fellow 1%ers. Instead, he spends it at his house in Maine with a few of his closest buddies, completing the redneck superfecta of hot sauce challenges, goat milking, skeet shooting, and hitting 125 mph on his dirt bike. Seriously, if White did all of this while slugging down Labbatt Blues, chain smoking cowboy killers, and demanding that Barack Obama show us his damn birth certificate already, I’d be convinced that we were born in the same town.
Then again, this is the same millionaire who willingly throws himself into mosh pits when he’s not cussing out members of the MMA media, so perhaps we should stop acting surprised when DW continuously defies our expectations for how the President of a major sports organization should act. Party on, Dana. Party on.
Answer: Nobody. Not even you. Watching this video might seem like a good idea at the time, but once that scalpel goes in at the 5:18 mark and they start separating the damn thing from its hinges, you’ll be like, “nah, it’s cool. I paid way too much for that McMuffin to lose it now.”
The latest Dana Vlog opens with a montage of the UFC kingpin battling his way through a torrent of media obligations stateside, including a cell phone convo in which he puts archenemy Bob Arum on blast. Once the final interview has been granted and the last F-bomb dropped, we see him jet off to Rio courtesy of some broke-ass “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” graphic.
While mingling with the segregated Brazilian and American camps, Dana makes a few weight inquiries which reveal that a disgruntled Forest Griffin was walking around at 216 lbs. one day removed from the official weigh-ins while Shogun was hovering just above the limit at 207 lbs. As for Middleweight challenger Yushin Okami, he was tipping the scales at a solid Thursday89 kilos 196 lbs.
Full weigh-in results after the jump. And if you didn’t get to drop your predictions in our Fight Picking contest, you’ve still got time to tell the Nation how it’s all going down tonight!
Dana’s Video Blogs are often great for two reasons: you get to see some cool shit from just over his shoulder, and you get just a small hint of how much money he has. This final UFC 133 entry is no different.
Following the UFC 133 Press Conference, Dana takes your standard helicopter ride to Atlantic City, where he proceeds to “kick the shit out of Caesar’s Palace”. Judging by the fat stacks of cash in his hotel room, The Baldfather is rapidly approaching the point where he must weigh his money rather than count it. We also get a closer look at last night’s weigh-ins and learn that Ivan Menjivar knew that he wouldn’t be cutting any additional weight as soon as he stepped off the scales, opting for a fine instead. A tough weight cut is always something to consider for those of you looking to place any last minute bets.
Here’s your chance to get it on the record. Who is getting their hand raised tonight?
It’s largely business as usual for yesterday’s Dana vlog. We see Dana make good on his promise to treat MMA enthusiast/homicidal maniac-thwarter Joseph Lozito to a behind the scenes weekend at UFC 128. Yesterday’s weigh-ins may have been low on seething anger and hostility, but it’s always cool to catch the action up close and personal.
One of the things the mainstream media loves to crow about Dana White is that he appeals to MMA fans because we view him as a “normal guy” who talks like we talk, dresses like we dress and isn’t afraid to speak his mind when the time comes. Of course, like a lot of things the mainstream media says about our sport, that’s total bullshit. There’s nothing “normal” about Dana White. Normal guys don’t take their kids to Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory for their birthdays, flit around on private planes or have sit downs with Mike Tyson.
In fact, one of the main reasons to like Dana White is that he’s not a normal guy. One of the reasons to like Big DW is that after the mainstream media told MMA fans to collectively go fuck themselves for, oh, about a decade Dana White smiled at them and basically said, “You’ll be begging me to be on your shows someday.” You know what? That cocky fucker was right, and it’s hard not to admire him for it. As evidence, witness DW’s new video blog, where he’s basically given the run of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. “campus” for a day while he’s out promoting UFC 118.
Adhering to its usual formula and taking a look back at the locker room footage from the previous event, the newest edition of UFC President Dana White’s infamous vlog features an up close and personal look at the poor bastards who came up short at UFC on FUEL: Gustafsson vs. Silva. And Brian Stann. He’s simply too nice to not be around at all times.
Now that we’ve all officially finished binge-eating/drinking our way through Christmas, our good pal DW is back and with a late gift of his own – the gift of heartbreak. In typical fashion, this week’s Danavlog focuses on the aftermath of UFC 140, giving us a behind the scenes look at the pre and post-fight moments of Tito Ortiz, Jon Jones, and perhaps most importantly, Krzystof Soszynski, who, after suffering a 35 second knockout at the hands of Igor Pokrajac, informs us that he has fought his last MMA contest. Whether he is just pulling a BJ Penn on us or is truly sincere about his decision remains to be seen, but if we really have witnessed the last of “The Polish Experiment,” we here at CP would just like to thank him for all the great fights and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Join us after the jump for the rest of the highlights.
Dana White’s video blogs, though sporadic, have taken an increasingly interesting turn in that they are now largely made up of post-fight footage from UFC events rather than the day-to-day extravagance that is “The Baldfather’s” life. As with his UFC 136 vlog, Dana gives us a brief introduction and wishes us a happy Halloween before throwing us behind the scenes of UFC 136 to witness the agony of defeat firsthand.
Particularly tough to watch is that of Melvin Guillard, who, after having his lightweight title aspirations choked out of him by Joe Lauzon, completely loses his shit backstage, throwing a chair across the room before breaking down on his hands and knees as the doctor’s try to attend to him. Even Joe Warren had to look away.
Join us after the jump for some other musings from this week’s vlog:
(You can skip through the first 2:45, unless you really can’t get enough of Dana White busting chops and complaining about incompetent employees.)
You have to love these Canadian MMA fans. Dana White goes to a Q&A session in a mall in Toronto (presumably the same one where he admitted that the UFC’s design team had caved to Chinese interests), and their questions are all so…good. Calm, measured, reasonable queries about the state of MMA in Ontario, and what DW has planned for the future.
Perhaps the most interesting answer White gives comes when he’s asked about Jon Jones, whose bandwagon has been filling up ever since his face-breaking win over Brandon Vera. The UFC knows they have a valuable asset with Jonny “Bones,” so they’re giving him a slow road to a title shot. Note, however, at the 3:35 mark, DW starts naming potential future opponents for Jones and the first name out of his mouth is Rashad Evans, who is Jones’s teammate, training partner, and surrogate big brother at Greg Jackson’s squad. I guess we’re still acting like we can just make those guys fight each other, no matter how many times they’ve said they won’t, huh?
My question is, if “Rampage” Jackson, Evans (theoretically, anyway), Lyoto Machida, and “Shogun” Rua are the guys Jones might face after he’s had three more fights over the next year, who’s he supposed to beat up in the meantime? You could make a case for Ryan Bader or maybe even our old friend K-Sos, but more than one or two of those fights and it’s going to start to feel like he’s treading water.
Gilbert Yvel’s UFC debut against Junior Dos Santos is only five days away, and Dana White is pumped. To introduce the infamous Dutch striker to any dumbass noobs who’ve never heard of him, DW brought his video-blog operation over to Modern Martial Arts to watch Yvel work out. The gym is run by John Lewis, Dana’s first (and only) jiu-jitsu instructor, who went 1-1 in the UFC about ten years ago. Lewis complains to Dana that all he ever sees on UFC Unleashed is him getting tooled by Jens Pulver. To make it up to him, Lewis’s nasty stoppage of Lowell Anderson at UFC 22 is at the end of this video blog. Anyway, Yvel looks to be in fine form, but Dos Santos can bang too, and if he can get Hurricane Yvel to the ground it might be a wrap, son.
After the jump:Paul Daley discusses his God-given ability to knock people out; he’ll be taking on submission prodigy Dustin Hazelett at #108.
The Dana White video blog has once again reared its head to give us a glimpse of the fight night happenings surrounding UFC 106. Mostly it’s a lot of DW wandering around, shaking hands, going back to the locker room and asking fighters if they’re ready to go (there’s only one right answer to that question), then congratulating the winners and consoling the losers afterwards. At the 6:55 mark Dana has an uncomfortable encounter with Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson, who insists, "He got robbed," even as White tries to avoid looking at her as best as he can. The whole conversation proves once again that Ortiz’s bitching and complaining never stops — it never even takes a breather. Josh Koscheck, as you might imagine, is less than sympathetic.
If all this bores you, just skip to the end to see Ariel Helwani get some extended camera time, this time wisely wearing a shirt not made out of bathrobe material. Chris Horodecki speaking up, plus an entertaining little fight, await you after the jump.
All fighters successfully made weight for UFC 105 in Manchester.That makes for a positive, though boring story, so we’ll just have to content ourselves with the latest installment of Dana White’s video blog.It seems DW is entertaining himself in England by looking at a mixture of art and oddities, all in the same afternoon.The things you can do when you’re a rich fight promoter with a love of high-brow culture and freaky weird stuff.
The highlight here may be White’s face time with fans, some of whom grill him with questions about Strikeforce and Gina Carano. At about the 5:07 mark we see the world’s biggest Dan Henderson fan, who tells Dana in no uncertain terms, "Sign Hendo back. He’s the best fighter in the world, sign him back." That does not sound like a request, Mr. White. That’s an in-your-face demand. Pay Henderson his "obscene" amount of money, or face that kid’s chubby wrath.
So you’re wondering what life is like in the UFC offices this week, what with their biggest event of all time coming up on Saturday. Must be pretty crazy. A lot of panicked running around, working into the early hours of the morning making sure Brock Lesnar doesn’t say anything homophobic to reporters, while also ensuring that Thiago Alves actually shows up on time for his flight to Vegas. Why, it’d hardly be surprising if they couldn’t find the time to do a video blog for this one at all, right?
With UFC 99 now just a couple hours away (don’t forget to join us for a little afternoon liveblogging) we get a glimpse of some of Dana White’s latest antics in the Vaterland. He kicks a little knowledge on German history, is entranced by a sausage, and raps with his fighters a bit just to see how everyone’s family is doing. Notice the difference in attitude between Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis near the end there. Seems like "The Outlaw" may have just realized that he’s talked himself into a beating, while Davis sounds like he is in the beginning stages of a premeditated murder. This ought to be fun to watch. Part two is after the jump.
It seems like it’s been forever since we passed along a Danavlog to you Taters, but today’s entry was simply too amazing to pass up. Perhaps to keep in accordance with the epic lineup that is UFC on FOX 5, Dana White has apparently turned up his pre-fight hype vlogs to 11.
Part 1 is above (featuring behind-the-scenes footage from UFC 154) but the real gem is part 2, which lies after the jump. Here’s a rundown of what you’re in store for:
- Dana White catching reality show producer Craig Piligian rummaging through The Ultimate Fighter wardrobe and nearly calling the police.
- Chael Sonnen discussing a recent near-fatal run-in his mother had with Yushin ”Yes, No, Thank You” Okami.
- Jon Jones and Sonnen engaging in a discussion about verbal tapping and whether Jones did it against Vitor Belfort, because Sonnen TOTALLY did against Paulo Filho.
Part of Dana White’s success is attributable to his ability to identify with the common man. Remember when your car broke down and you had to walk five miles to get to work? Dana feels you. Of course, in his case the car is actually a luxurious private jet, and he doesn’t have to walk because there’s a second private jet at his disposal waiting in the next hangar. Like they say- mo’ money, mo’ problems.
Dana’s second “UFC on Versus 5” vlog gives us an up close and personal view of yesterday’s weigh-ins, though thankfully the camera backs off when it’s time for Hardy to shed his skivvies. Give it a look and catch the tension in the Miller-O’Brien staredown, the bold donning of a pair of daisy dukes (is another ban about to drop?), and the cool excitement in Lytle’s smile as he heads into battle one last time.
When I clicked on the latest episode of Dana White’s fight week video blogs, I was hoping to at least hear the UFC president mention the candid private conversation he had with Ben on Saturday afternoon about Arianny’s Playboy spread, but instead I was treated to the usual inside jokes and inane banter between The Baldfather and his homeboys.
For more on what Dana had to say to Ben (and trust me, you don’t want to miss it) tune into The Bum RushFriday morning.
Let’s just say Dana makes Gus Johnson seem like a polite telemarketer.
Good news: The Danavlog is back, baby. Bad news: It might be the worst one yet. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for a full seven minutes of Dana White busting the balls of Marty Cordova, who forgot his passport on the way to Canada. Seriously, the whole thing takes place in the cabin of their private jet, and that’s all that happens. Luckily, we can hit the pause button as soon as the bullying insult-routine becomes too grating; unfortunately, Dana’s employees can’t hit pause on their own lives. One of these days, Marty or that "Morzo" guy behind him is going to snap and tell Dana to go fuck himself, and Dana is going to be dumbfounded, and Lorenzo Fertitta will be cracking up, and through his laughter Lorenzo will ask Dana if he’s going to take that from an employee, and Dana will take his shock pen and shock Marty (or whoever) to death, and then he and Lorenzo will have to bury the body somewhere, and at that moment Lorenzo will realize that Dana can’t be controlled, even if he’s just a minority owner on paper, and no that’s not a subplot from Goodfellas, that’s a completely original scenario that I just made up, so suck it.
Semi-related: After a brief period of reconciliation, the UFC has indefinitely denied press credentials to Dana’s old rival, Sherdog.com. When asked by Josh Gross to explain the reason for the re-ban, Dana White responded, "none of your [expletive] business."
Win or lose, you can always count on Mark Coleman to give up the emotions after a fight. Taking home his first win in over three years against Stephan Bonnar on Saturday, the Hammer was elated. In the video above, Coleman tells us that he can’t stand being called an old man, and guarantees he’ll be a factor in the UFC light-heavyweight division now that he’s changed his mindset and the way he trains. He also denies gassing out at UFC 100: "I always look tired, I’m playing possum…I was fresh, I got better as the fight went on." You can watch the fight here to see just how fresh he looked.
Regardless of whether or not you feel Frankie Edgar truly deserved an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson after their epic clash at UFC 144, this rematch is going to happen this weekend, barring any last minute injuries, so you’ll just have to deal with it.
In all honesty, Edgar/Bendo II is perhaps the perfect main event to follow up UFC on FOX 4, as it will surely continue to deliver on the action-packed slugfests that its preceding event provided. And while we’re on the subject of UFC on FOX 4, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the event provided by the almighty Danavlog. It’s got everything: Damarques Johnson asking “What the hell happened?”, Ryan Bader asking “What the hell happened?”, and even Brandon Vera asking “What the hell happened?” Valentine McKee would’ve been proud.
So give that a gander if you would be so kind, and if you’re looking to get properly amped for this weekend’s events, down your first 5-hour energy of the day and check out the full Countdown to UFC 150 videos detailing the Bendo/Edgar, Cerrone/Guillard, and Ed Herman/Jake Shields fights after the jump.
We have really grown to appreciate the behind-the-scenes direction these Danavlogs have begun to take over the past few months. The simple, objective look at these fighters in either their finest hour or their most vulnerable says more than any Hollywood film ever could, and transcends even that of the sport in its ability to make us empathize with the highs and lows of life as a professional athlete.
One facet of the fight game that becomes glaringly evident in today’s episode is the fact that a fighter rarely walks away from a battle unscathed, win or lose. Take Mike Easton for instance, who suffered a slightly torn left hand ligament in his majority decision victory over Jared Papazian. Or Melvin Guillard, who, despite throwing more flying knees than actual punches, has possibly added a TFCC tear to the list of chronic injuries in his hand. Needless to say, if you fear going under the knife, then a fighter’s life is not for you.
Anyway, join us after the jump for some highlights.
Dana White’s latest vlog walks us through the behind the scenes drama at yesterday’s weigh-ins. Before the action unfolds we get to tag along with the multimillionaire fight baron as he soars over the slums of Rio in a private helicopter. Poetry.
Things get interesting when Vitor Belfort checks in at the arena. Watching “The Phenom” gnaw away on a towel of crushed ice like a starved animal as he learns that “Rumble” is nowhere in the vicinity of 185lbs makes Johnson’s massive failure all the more unforgivable. Vitor had the option of stopping his cut and fighting at a catchweight, but ultimately chose the path of the professional and made the contracted weight. That 20% of Johnson’s purse probably didn’t hurt his decision.
Join us back here this evening as we kick off our Liveblog with the prelims on FX!
It’s the week of UFC 106, but coming off a trip across the pond for last weekend’s show, Dana White doesn’t feel like he has enough material for a new video blog. Fortunately for him, his personal videographer never uploaded the fight night footage from UFC 104 in Los Angeles, so why not just put that on the internet and call it good? Things are going smoothly at first. DW presses the flesh with some celebrities, talks to some fighters in the locker rooms, passes by ace interviewer and hopelessly unfashionable friend of the Potato Ariel Helwani (is that a flannel shirt? is it 1994?) at the 5:15 mark. But when he watches refereee Steve Mazzagatti’s oddly-timed stoppage in the Cain Velasquez-Ben Rothwell fight, that’s when White loses his cool just a bit.
"Mazzagatti will fuck up any fight," White says directly into the camera. "The worst referee in the history of fighting. Period. I don’t care if there was a fight back in the old days, okay, the Stone Age. Mazzagatti is the worst referee ever. The guy has no business watching mixed martial arts, let alone refereeing it."
White then visited both Velasquez and Rothwell to make sure they both knew what a terrible referee Mazzagatti was, and after that he presumably called Mazzagatti’s children to let them know that their father is a failure. That part must have been edited out.
And to get us hyped for the event, Dana White recently released one of his patented Danavlogs in which he catches Urijah Faber ogling over himself while on the set of TUF 15. It makes TOTAL SENSE if you don’t think about it. We gotta admit though, watching The Baldfather giggle like a school girl at Urijah’s expense makes us long for the days of his shock pen pranks that we came to know and love. [*looks over shoulder nostalgically and sighs*]
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