Dana White is back with another instalment of his acclaimed retrospective video series and we’re starting to notice a pattern here. The UFC president seems to be phoning it it these days, appearing sparingly in the videos and filling the remainder up with footage from previous events, which is false advertising considering this was supposed to be the UFC 135 Video Blog 1.
The Cliff’s Notes of what we learned this episode is after the jump.
Jason Miller made a stop on “The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon” last night ahead of Wednesday’s The Ultimate Fighter 14 premiere and among other things “Mayhem” shared his thoughts on how he would fare against Jason Statham and Jason Bourne.
MMA’s top free agent Dan Henderson sat down Monday with Clinch Gear Radio to talk about a number of topics including his last fight with Fedor Emelianenko, whether or not he thinks the Russian fighter can return to his former glory and where his own career stands as of now.
For those of you whose ADHD makes it impossible to pay attention or whose workplace Internet filters make it impossible for you to watch YouTube videos, we have you covered with the transcription of the meat and potatoes after the jump.
In the aftermath of yesterday’s bombshell that Nick Diaz was pulled from his UFC 137 main event fight against Georges St. Pierre, it still isn’t clear what kind of future Diaz has in the UFC. But one thing’s clear — he’s violated Dana White’s trust, and that’s generally not a good career move.
Check out the above video interview from MMA30, in which Dave Farra gets DW’s immediate reactions to Diaz’s press conference no-show. Ultimately, White felt that he couldn’t promote a fighter who was so undependable: “This kid’s not gonna show up in Vegas, didn’t show up in Toronto — what else isn’t he going to show up for? Is he not gonna show up for the fight? I’m not gonna risk that.”
(“Let’s try to make this thing last at least one round, deal?”)
UFC president Dana White announced during a conference call today that a heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will be the only bout on the promotion’s inaugural one-hout broadcast on Fox November 12. The heavily-anticipated bout, which was rumored to be the capper for UFC 139 a week later in San Jose, was instead moved to the Fox show and will now be the UFC’s landmark first fight on network television. The promotion is confident that it could do for them what Griffin vs. Bonnar I at the TUF 1 finale did for the sport back in 2006.
Somewhere in the back your mind is a Mt. Rushmore of MMA, one for fighter and one for non-fighters. On the latter, you’d undoubtedly have Dana White in addition to your pick of Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., Bruce Buffer, or Joe Rogan. However, you only get to pick two of the guys I’ve listed because the second spot on the mountain is reserved for the most recognized referee in all of MMA, “Big” John McCarthy.
No one has had a bigger impact on the sport of mixed martial arts without having actually fought someone or having the last name of Fertita or White. Few have stepped inside the Octagon more times than McCarthy and almost no one has helped grow the sport from birth to the dark ages and into the mainstream arena that it is in today. And you thought he just asked the fighters if they were ready and raised the winner’s hand?
“Big” John McCarthy was kind enough to sit down with CagePotato recently to discuss his new book ‘Let’s Get It On!‘ which can be purchased on Amazon. The book is 50% MMA history lesson, 50% autobiography, and 100% worth every penny spent to own a copy and every minute spent reading. So, without further adieu, let’s get it on!
Panic reigns supreme at UFC headquarters in the aftermath of Anderson Silva’s destruction of the strongest middleweight in the world. Dana White has been asking the same question for hours: NOW who do we put in front of Silva?
In a late-night spitballing session, Dana puts his question to his closest friends and confidants, hoping to devise a title defense that would actually be competitive. But while brainstorming can lead to bizarre, innovative ideas, Dana is unprepared for what sleep deprivation and caipirinhas have done to Joe Silva…
Ok, this is totally fake and i made it all up. There, you’ve been warned.
Come on in past the jump (if you dare), and check out the return of Keyboard Warriors. Props to Brandon Stroud over at WithLeather for coming up with a fun concept, but he doesn’t help write any of the jokes — blame those on me.
(Anderson Silva is brought to tears by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win at UFC 134. Props: Gesias)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
- Dana White Still Open to Signing Alistair Overeem (NBC Sports MMA)
- Ryan Jimmo predicts a TKO against Sokoudjou at MFC 31 on Oct. 7 (MMA Mania)
- Exclusive Photos From Fight Rehearsals on “Warrior” Film (TheFightNerd)
- Postcards From Rio, Part III: Fight Night Musings From Beer-Soaked Press Row (MMA Fighting)
If you missed the UFC 134 Spike TV Prelims broadcast on Saturday, then you missed Rousimar Palhares act as judge, jury, and (almost) executioner against Dan Miller. Near the end of the first round, Palhares landed a huge head kick that flattened Miller, and followed it up with some nasty punches from the top. And then he raised his arms in victory and strolled off to jump on the cage, as if the fight had been stopped, which it definitely hadn’t.
Herb Dean was forced to corral Palhares and tell him the fight was still going on. When the action was re-started, Miller immediately floored Palhares with a punch, but Palhares quickly recovered and did enough through the rest of the match to earn a comfortable unanimous decision win (29–27, 30–27, 30–25).
For ‘Toquinho’, it’s just the latest chapter in a controversial UFC career that has already included a 90-day suspension due to brutality, and an epically failed attempt to file a greasing complaint against Nate Marquardt while Marquardt was beating the crap out of him. But Palhares says the Miller non-stoppage was just a simple misunderstanding:
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.
Dana White broke Ariel Helwani off a few minutes of his precious time to talk about a myriad of subjects, most interesting of which was his reaction to Golden Glory manager Bas Boon‘s public desire to meet all of Zuffa’s concerns, including direct payments to fighters and an exclusive contract with Alistair Overeem: “Well that’s awesome. If that’s the true story and that’s what he said, sounds like we can make a deal then…If Bas Boon is saying that this is the way we can do it, then we can absolutely, positively make a deal and we can get this ball rolling again.”
Though he appeared willing to move beyond whatever was behind the mass-firing, Dana didn’t relent from his position that the cuts were simply a matter of different business practices between the parties and nothing more: “I don’t give a shit what they tweet, what they take pictures of, or what they say, they fucking know exactly how it worked and we would not do it that way.”
After the jump, it turns out that Overeem has not been officially released by Strikeforce after all.
Since he’s on his way to Wisconsin for the lead-up media appearances for Sunday night’s UFC Live on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle event, Dana White’s first video blog for the show is more of a recap of UFC 133, which is just as well.
It’s interesting to see Dana’s non reaction to Vitor Belfort’s win over Yoshihiro Akiyama. He can clearly be heard telling Lorenzo Fertitta that the finishing blows by “The Phenom” were to the back of “Sexyama’s” head. Neither UFC executive showed little emotion when Belfort came over to their side of the Octagon to let them know he’s back and White later said in an interview that the former UFC light heavyweight champion would have to chew on his loss to Anderson Silva for a while before he gets another title shot.
(Imagine getting into a bar fight with these guys?)
The head of Golden Glory, Bas Boon released a press release Thursday that further explained some of the behind the scenes happenings that may have led to the recent sudden firings of Team Golden Glory fighters Alistair Overeem, Marloes Coenen, John Olav Einemo.
According to Boon, he was working hand-in-hand with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker to form strategic partnerships with a number of organizations like K-1 and DREAM and had been involved in meetings with television networks with Coker in an effort to make the promotion a viable competitor to the UFC. Unbeknownst to Boon, while he was making connections and setting up these meetings, Coker was already in talks with Zuffa about selling the struggling promotion.
It’s not unforeseeable that when Coker informed the UFC that Boon had been instrumental in Strikeforce making a full-court press at competing with them, that they took umbrage with his effort to aid the competition.
Another interesting tidbit Boon dropped in the statement was that Golden Glory had made arrangements, with the help of the UFC, for its fighters to be paid directly by Zuffa/Forza and for them to cash their checks in the U.S. prior to returning back to Holland, where it takes between six and eight business days for their money to clear. According to UFC president Dana White, Golden Glory refused to allow its fighters to be paid directly, which was the reason he says they cut ties with the likes of Alistair Overeem, John Olav Einemo and Marloes Coenen.
A couple of weeks before UFC 133 in Philadelphia, Dana White made an appearance on Philly’s Preston and Steve show on WMMR to promote the show. Preston and Steve, being the wacky morning radio show duo they are, invited local comic and YouTube star Ed Bassmaster down to meet the Baldfather as one of his many alter-egos. Dana obviously had no idea who this guy was, as he completely bought that Skippy was just your average TUF fan in khakis and comically thick glasses.
So what happens when you ask Dana why he frequently seems upset and angry?
Well, Dana was so amused that he decided to have Ed wander the locker rooms and hallways at the event, doing interviews and trying to put some moves on Chandella. Of course, what he really wanted to do was get Skippy in the same room with Lorenzo Fertitta and sit back and watch the big guy squirm.
(Pat Promrangka savagely knocks out Mitch Heron at FightWorld Cup 9, Saturday night in Queensland, Australia. Props: Doombringer002)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
- What’s Next for UFC 133 Winners and Losers? (NBC Sports MMA)
- Chael Sonnen Takes Unique Approach to Selling Brian Stann Fight (5thRound)
- Dana White Talks Shaquille O’Neal, GSP vs. Nick Diaz and ‘TUF 14′ (MMA Fighting)
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?
This past week has been a wild ride for Golden Glory fighters, one that they’d likely rather get off at this point. With the exception of Strikeforce HWGP competitor Sergei Kharitonov, Zuffa purged its rosters of the Netherlands-based camp, starting with Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Last night “The Demolition Man” joined Inside MMA to give his side of the tale.
Things start off as many would imagine: with Zuffa/Forza management looking like unreasonable assholes. Overeem repeats that he was promised an October date for the second round of the tournament, and when injuries prevented him from competing a month earlier than planned he was removed from the tournament. From there he says the conversation deteriorated:
“Well then the communication harshened a little bit. It was like, ‘If you don’t compete in the tournament then you’re going to be cut from Strikeforce entirely.’ So, that was really like a threat. So I [said], ‘Then go ahead and cut me].’ And they went along and cut me.”
That all sounds pretty cut and dry; he was told to jump, and when he refused he was punished unfairly. As he goes on, however, we see that there was more at play here than petty vindictiveness.
After the jump: More from Overeem on why he was released, and Dana White explains Golden Glory’s management demands and GOES OFF on Fedor supporters.
“This is actually a pretty simple explanation. If you look back throughout history, we haven’t had any Golden Glory guys fight with us since Semmy Schilt, right? And the reason is we have very different business practices. It’s tough to do business with them. The bottom line is the way they do business is, you have to pay them, not the fighters. We don’t work that way. It’s not the way we do business. It’s not how it works in the United States with the athletic commissions. You don’t pay the managers and the managers pay the fighters. You pay the fighters and the fighters pay the managers…The reality is, we’re trying to work out deals with these guys and they won’t do it. They said you absolutely can’t pay the fighters, you have to pay us. And it’s pretty simple to look back and see that the last guy who fought in UFC was Semmy Schilt. There was a reason for that.”
(Fedor Emelianenko following his TKO loss to Antonio Silva in February. Photo courtesy of Cagewriter.)
Dana White confirmed during a UFC 133 press conference today that Fedor Emelianenko has been released from Strikeforce in the wake of his first-round TKO loss to Dan Henderson last weekend, which was his third-consecutive defeat in the organization. Unlike the recent cuts of Alistair Overeem and his mates from Golden Glory, this one shouldn’t really surprise anybody considering Fedor’s recent struggles and Dana White’s long-held opinion of him and his management. From an MMAFighting report:
“He’s being cut, yeah,” White told the media. “Why? Do you think we should keep him? … You guys thought he was the pound-for-pound best in the world, but I thought he was overrated for years.”
It’s amazing that the UFC marketing department can release what likely started off as an inter-office gag and it becomes more popular than the actual hype videos they release for the event, especially when you think it probably didn’t take their video editing team more than an hour to make it.
Hopefully everyone had a nice little Saturday. Maybe you went to Home Depot to pick out some wallpaper, or maybe you hit Bed Bath and Beyond with your significant other if you had enough time. Chances are you didn’t do anything too crazy like take your kids to skate with Tony Hawk and Shaun White or go to the Rage Against the Machine concert for your birthday.
(“…and then, we’ll have events every hour of every day…”)
In a recent interview he did with Sports Illustrated, UFC president Dana White touched on several hot button topics including his organization’s pay-per-view aspirations, the future of the Strikeforce brand, the fact that Paul Daley will still never be invited back to the UFC, Fedor being a sub-top ten heavyweight, his feelings about fighters like Jon Fitch and much, much more.
Check out what The Baldfather had to say after the jump.
(You don’t get to 10,000 friends without making a few enemies. / Images courtesy of 5thRound, Playboy.)
All month, it’s been taunting me — watching the fan count on our Facebook page creep slowly, steadily toward 10,000. At the time of this writing, we’re sitting at 9,977 fans, just a stone’s throw away from the Promised Land. Well I’m not going to let this affect my sleep any longer. We’re passing 10,000 fans today, damn it, with or without you bastards.
If you’re reading this now and you have a Facebook account, but aren’t a follower of facebook.com/CagePotato for some reason, please head there and “Like” our page. It’ll keep you up-to-date with all the top stories on CagePotato, and provide you with bonus content that we didn’t have room for on the site.
Plus, it’ll give you another outlet to share feedback, post your own links and photos, and complain about our captcha system — all at no cost to you. So please, do us a favor, just this once. Thank you.
(Above: The book cover, via Smashwords.com. Below: Proof that Dana White was born to a human mother and father. Click both to enlarge.)
In a Frank Sorrentino-esque attempt to remind her big-time son where he came from, Dana White‘s mother June White has self-published a book called Dana White: King of MMA, which details how the Baldfather’s personality changed for the worse as he became wealthy and powerful through the success of the UFC. You can buy the 92-page volume for $8.99 at Smashwords.com — or you can just do what we did and read the 13-page sample, in which the author debunks the DW “mythology,” describes how Dana cursed her out as if she were any other uncooperative fighter or reporter, and yes, even compares him to Rosemary’s Baby. (That part’s my favorite. Kudos, June) Here are the best bits…
There are many articles written about Dana, where he came from, and the hard life he had growing up. I have heard him referred to as a Southie tuff, but that is not who Dana is and does not accurately reflect the life he has led. It is hard for me to hear the many myths about Dana, and the way he is portrayed to the public. It is difficult for me to see how, as the popularity of the UFC evolved, the person I once knew changed into someone who is egotistical, self-centered, arrogant, and cruel. I liken Dana’s transformation to that of Precious in Lord of the Rings. Just as the ring of power changed that fictional character, Dana’s power and wealth have changed him into someone I do not recognize.
(A pretty solid metaphor for their respective careers right now.)
With the UFC still in the lurch after Phil Davis’s injurywrecked yet another UFC main event, Tito Ortiz has done the unthinkable — he’s decided to become a team player. After initially refusing to step up as Rashad Evans‘s replacement opponent at UFC 133, Ortiz has now agreed to take the fight, which will come just five weeks after his shock upset of Ryan Bader at UFC 132. Oddly enough, Tito’s change-of-heart came after Lyoto Machida accepted the fight, then lost the opportunity during negotiations. We’ll let Dana White tell the story, via MMAJunkie:
“Machida accepted the fight. We knew for a couple days this was going down, and Machida accepted the fight. Then when we called back and said, ‘OK, we’re going to make this fight,’ Machida’s people came back and said, ‘We’ll tell you what. You pay us what you pay Anderson Silva, and we’ll take the fight.’ This was after they had already agreed to take the fight.
I said, ‘Are you [expletive] kidding me? I’ll tell you what. You tell Machida he achieves what [expletive] Anderson Silva has achieved, then maybe he’ll make Anderson Silva money. Have a nice day.’…
According to MMAJunkie, UFC president Dana White announced the firing following today’s UFC 132 press conference. Usually when charges like this are laid, we wait to pass judgment until the facts of the case come out, but considering the fact that Rogers kids have told police that he hit them as well and that they witnessed the entire assault on their mother, knowing that young children rarely lie to authority figures to GET their parents into trouble, the case seems pretty cut and dry.
CagePotato.com has learned that former UFC welterweight contender Karo “The Heat” Parisyan contacted the UFC to offer to step in for Nate Marquardt to face Rick Story on last night’s UFC Live on Versus 4 card.
According to a source close to Parisyan, the Armenian Judoka texted UFC president Dana White moments after the news broke that Marquardt was unable to compete on the card because he not met the medical testing requirements of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission and would immediately be let go from the remainder of his Zuffa contract as a result, to let him know that he was in shape, his medicals were up to date and he could make the 170-pound welterweight limit in about in an hour or two. White, who chose instead to give Charlie Brenneman the fight, simply texted back, “:).”
If you missed Keyboard Warriors Monday, hey thanks. Nice to know someone actually appreciates all I do to entertain you jerkfaces. For the rest of you: hey guess what i did?
Yup, prepare yourselves for KBW #3! In the aftermath of the weekend’s Strikeforce action, Dana takes the time to address the heavyweights, evaluate their performances, and fill them in on his short terms plans. And his long term plans. Say what you will, but Big Daddy White dreams big, son.
If you are interested in 100% made up conversations between characters that are mostly fabrications, come on in and enjoy. Feel free to comment your little hands off. If you don’t like comedy … well, i’ve got nothing for you.
Why do you keep coming here again?
As always, thanks to Christopher and those jokers at WithLeather.
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
- Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)
- Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)
- The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)
- Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)
- Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)
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