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Dana White: Tim Sylvia’s Suspension, HW Title
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 10.20.2003 02:04 AM
BoxingInsider.com Interview with Dana White
In the aftermath of Tim Sylvia’s suspension and his decision to vacate the heavyweight title, Dana White spoke to Boxinginsider.com about the former champion, the future of the heavyweight championship, and the upcoming UFC 45.
BoxingInsider.com: In your own words, what exactly happened today at the hearing?
Dana White: I think Tim Sylvia acted like a true champion today . . . He faced up to what he had done wrong, and I think the Commission saw that and treated him accordingly. I think that they were fair in [the punishment] they gave him.
BoxingInsider.com: What's the plan for the heavyweight division now?
Dana White: I don't know. I think we're going to do the rematch of Wes Sims and Frank Mir and then do a vacant title fight when Tim's able to fight.
BoxingInsider.com: The Mir – Sims fight is going to replace the heavyweight championship at the next pay-per-view?
Dana White: Yes. The main event will still be Matt Hughes [vs. Frank Trigg].
BoxingInsider.com: What does the MMA community have to do to make sure that something like this never happens again?
Dana White: I don't think there's really too much. We send letters out to these guys. They know they're going to be tested. You can’t take or use steroids!
BoxingInsider.com: Only the four main event fighters were actually tested. How come the other fighters weren't tested?
Dana White: That's not my job. That's the Nevada State Athletic Commission's job.
BoxingInsider.com: When we interviewed Burt Watson, he gave us about 8,000 different things that he tests for, and I was just wondering why steroids aren't on that list?
Dana White: [Why don’t we test for steroids] when they get their tests done before the fight: because it’s not our job -- we don't test for steroids! We test to make sure the athletes are healthy and that they're able to compete.
BoxingInsider.com: Do you think safeguards need to be put in place so this situation doesn't happen again?
Dana White: That's up to the Commission. That's the Commission's job, not mine. My job is to make sure these guys are healthy and they're not going to go in there and . . . Nobody's going to get killed because they have a spot on their brain or something like that or they're fighting with a broken bone. . . That's our job . . . [We] make sure that they don't have HIV, or hepatitis, and it's a safe environment to compete in.
As far as steroids [go]? I've said this many times: I support the Nevada State Athletic Commission in everything they do, but I have a big problem with mixed martial artists and boxers being touched for steroids. If you're going to test them, then start testing major league baseball, NBA, NFL. That will never happen because it would destroy those sports.
Every professional athlete on this planet is using them . . . It's a fact. It's a huge battle for one guy to fight.
BoxingInsider.com: Now that Tim Sylvia has been singled out as a person…
Dana White: [jumping in] . . . I love Tim Sylvia. He's a great UFC champion. I think he's probably one of the nicest kids I've ever met. He's honorable and he's a really good guy -- I do not believe he took steroids to cheat, to hurt, or to try to beat Gan McGee because he needed to use steroids. I think he took them for the wrong reasons. I think he learned his lesson. And if he gets busted for using steroids again, he would not be returned to the UFC because at the end of the day, we invest money in these fights and these fighters, and to have it end up declared no contest sucks for us. It's bad for our business.
BoxingInsider.com: Do you think, in this case, you can turn lemons into lemonade? Tim Sylvia is a very nice and personable guy. The Commission did recommend that he go and speak to schools and talk to others about the dangers of steroids. Do you think that the UFC might be able to get press coverage in new places because Tim will now be speaking against steroids?
Dana White: Yes, I think so. I think Tim Sylvia's a great guy and a great champion. I think he made a mistake -- and we all make mistakes. I've made plenty of mistakes and, I'm going to make a lot more before I die. It's not my job to crucify somebody and point the finger. Josh Barnett is a guy that we really didn't have a good relationship with at the time that he left. And I never really crucified Josh on the whole steroids thing either. It's not my job.
BoxingInsider.com: I don't think it's a matter of crucifying him, but basically what I'm saying is: can he be used as a tool? For instance, go to speak at the UFC . . .
Dana White: Oh! He is! As a matter of fact he offered that up to the Commission. He said he's going to go back to his hometown and talking to schools. He wants to talk to kids. Tim Sylvia's very torn up about this whole thing. He’s concerned how people look at him now and how they feel about him. He's very upset about it. He's going to go to schools and speak to people -- he took that upon himself. He gave up the title on his own. He didn't have to be stripped or anything like that. He said, "I don't want claim to title. I'll give it up -- and when I come back, I'll come back and win it, and I'll be clean." He did the right thing. He was a man about the whole thing. He wasn't a punk.
He stood up and said "I admit it. I did it. I'm wrong. I'm sorry."
He apologized to everybody. He was a complete gentleman about the whole thing. You realize that out of all the people who've been busted for steroids, he's the only one that has admitted it? He actually stepped up and admitted it. I have a lot of respect for Tim Sylvia.
BoxingInsider.com: What are your plans to fill in that void on the UFC 45?
Dana White: No void. It was going to be Frank Mir versus Tim Sylvia for the title and [now] we're going to do the rematch with Wes Sims [and Frank Mir].
BoxingInsider.com: Is there any possible comment about any progress on the TV show front?
Dana White: Still working on it. It's a huge process.
BoxingInsider.com: I heard something on the Underground about a thing between you and Josh Thomson. Is there some heat between you and Josh Thomson?
Dana White: I like Josh Thomson very much. I've actually done a lot of things for Josh Thomson. He's a good kid. But, him coming out and saying he's not fighting unless he makes more money is ridiculous. . . Josh has only fought once in the UFC. And I've said this a million times too: if you look at what the pro boxers are paid for their first few fights, and look at what MMA guys are paid -- the MMA guys make a lot more money than pro boxers do. You have to work your way up in this sport. The kid has had one fight.
We tried to get him to fight on the next Mohegan card but he's hurt again, which sucks. But my whole point was: why does he think he deserves more money? The guy who posted that email that I had sent to him, asked me, "Do you care if I quote you on what you said?"
I said, "No" -- because there's nothing that I wouldn't say in an interview. There's nothing there that I wouldn't say to somebody else's face or that I wouldn't say to Josh Thomson straight out.
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