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UFC 45: Indepth Interview w/ UFC Pres. Dana White
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 11.19.2003 03:41 AM
BoxingInsider.com Interview with Dana White
Reported By: Chris Colderley
As part of Boxinginsider.com's full coverage of UFC 45: Revolution Chris Colderley had a chance to chat with the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to talk about the Pride fall out, and what is instore this weekend for UFC 10th anniversary show.
Boxinginsider.com: There's been a lot going on. First of all, let me ask you about Pride. What did you think about the show overall?
Dana White: I thought it was a great show. They put on a great event -- it was a very good event. To be there live was [amazing]. I watched it on television last night because I wanted to see Chuck's fight again -- and it's way better live.
Photo: Josh Hedges UFC.tv
Boxinginsider.com: How many people were there -- were there 60 or 70,000 people?
Dana White: There were a lot of people there. I don't know what the actual number was, but it was a lot of people. It seemed to me that there were more people at the last one than this one -- for some reason.
Boxinginsider.com: That's possible. I think they announced it as 67,000.
Dana White: Then there were more people at this one. There were a lot of people!
Boxinginsider.com: What about Chuck's fight? What were your impressions of the fight?
Dana White: If you watched the fight, I don't think there's any question as to what my impression was. I thought it was terrible. I was unhappy with the fight; I was unhappy with Chuck's performance. I was with him for six weeks. I saw him training. He just didn't have it for him that night -- it didn't come together. It was hard for me to watch him on the ground getting hammered and stomped, taking the body shots that he was taking, and elbows to the ribs -- the whole experience sucked, to be honest.
Boxinginsider.com: What do you think he needs to do? He's had two losses in his last three fights.
Dana White: I've got to be honest with you: this last fight, I think, was a mental thing. I think maybe [Chuck] took Couture lightly the first time and Randy just fought [hard]. Randy is the best 205-pounder in the world right now. He really is.
I think Chuck took him lightly. I think everybody did -- Randy was a 3to 1 underdog.
[Chuck] didn't take this tournament lightly at all. He was in great shape. He did all the right things. He trained hard for it. I don't know if it's just a mental thing for him.
Rampage is a tough guy, but he didn't look like a world-beater that night. They came out and they slugged it out in what to me was a sloppy, slow-paced fight. Wanderlei [however] came out on 'Seek and Destroy'. I have never ever been impressed with Wanderlei Silva. He impressed me last weekend. He really impressed me when he came out against Rampage and Yoshida. He nearly submitted Yoshida with a triangle. Then, he went after Rampage. He looked like a killer -- a world-beater.
Rampage is a tough guy. He took a couple of big shots from Chuck Liddell and he took some huge shots from Wanderlei Silva. He wouldn't get knocked out. He wouldn't go down -- he would not go down. I like Rampage very much. He is a very, very cool guy. He's a good guy; he's funny; and he's a tough guy -- a very tough guy. He showed a lot of heart.
Boxinginsider.com: You mentioned Randy Couture. I know he put out a challenge out to Silva. Is there any chance that fight would ever happen?
Dana White: There are a lot of logistical problems to make that fight happen -- a lot of business issues that would have to be ironed out. I'd love to make it happen. The thing is that was Chuck's third time over there. He's beaten two Pride fighters, and he lost this one.
I’m bummed out, I can't… Chuck's gone over there twice and beat Pride fighters twice. Now the stuff didn't come together for him that night and sometimes that happens. The fighting game works that way: some days it works out for you, some days it doesn't. I know that Chuck has the ability to have won that tournament. That's the hardest part for all of us.
Boxinginsider.com: When are we going to see Pride reciprocate on their promise to send fighters over to the UFC?
Dana White: People were asking me -- I did some interviews when I came back, I still haven't been on the internet…I'm staying away from the internet -- but I went on one of the radio shows and I told all the fans -- you want to blast me, [I talked a lot of smack], come on and blast me, let me hear… let's talk about it. Nobody really called and said anything. I don't know if the talk on the internet is negative, but I just haven't been in the mood. First of all, I'm busy. We've got our own show next week. And, it’s still a little painful. I was pretty depressed after [Chuck] lost at the tournament.
The difference is I've got the balls playing on the line. I'm going to put my guys out there to fight the big fights. That's what it's all about.
If you look at any of the old days, the glory days of boxing -- boxing has become so political and so full of shit, basically. Guys don't want to fight certain guys and there's not enough money and 'Oh, there's not this' and 'Oh, there's not that'. To become one of the best fighters in the world and to be known as one of the best fighters in the world, you've got to fight everybody. You've got to fight whoever is perceived as the best and whoever is on top. That's what I love about Chuck. He’s willing to do that, and I'm willing to do that too. So, Pride does owe me right now…and Sakuraba …they don't want -- we'll see if they'll do it. We'll see if they'll put it on the line like I did.
Boxinginsider.com: I think they offered Fujita as well, did they not?
Dana White: They offered Fujita, but I didn't ask for him. That wasn't who I asked for.
Boxinginsider.com: It would certainly beef up the heavyweight division, though.
Dana White: Yeah. The fight that impressed me the most, I think, was Mirko Cro Cop and Nogueira. I've been to every big boxing match you can think of -- little boxing matches -- I've been to them all. We've done the UFCs since 30 and I went to three UFCs before that. I've never heard a guy take shots like Nogueira took that night. My feet were so close I could touch the ring and you should have heard the shots that Nogueira got hit with that night.
First of all, his body was demolished from his hip up to underneath his armpit -- from the kicks. And one of the straight left-hands he got hit with -- I thought it broke his face. He got hit that hard, and it sounded like…it was unbelievable. Nogueira sucked it up, stayed in there, and then came out and pulled out the win. It was unbelievable: a great fight and a great fighter with some heart. That was a great fight -- one of the best fights I've seen in a while.
Boxinginsider.com: Does being a fan sometimes interfere with your role as President of the UFC?
Dana White: It might. I don't know if I see it…If it does, then it's a huge problem because Lorenzo and I are both huge fans…It might cloud our judgment sometimes, no doubt. Just like relationships and friendships with fighters can do that sometimes. But, that's what it is.
Boxinginsider.com: Now, to the big UFC 45 show. First of all, I just got news that Din Thomas is out. He broke his hand, I guess. His replacement for the fight will be who?
Dana White: Nick Agallar.
Boxinginsider.com: He'll be making his UFC debut?
Dana White: Yes. You know, it's very hard, and we appreciate him stepping up. It's very hard to get someone to take on someone like Yves Edwards last minute.
I have a lot of respect for him stepping up like that.
Boxinginsider.com: What exactly is going on with the lightweight division and the lightweight championship?
Dana White: We have an announcement that we're going to make pretty soon. We've got to get all the things done for the next show. The lightweight division is a little shook up right now. There are a lot of good guys in that division: Josh Thompson, [Hermes Franka], Uno's still in the mix, BJ Penn, Yves Edwards, Din Thomas -- a lot of tough guys. I think we're going to have some very interesting BJ Penn news very soon. We'll see what happens.
Boxinginsider.com: The middleweight fight between Lindland and Vitale -- where does this leave the middleweight championship? I think that has been vacant for… I don't even know if it actually is vacant?
Dana White: It's almost like we have a mini-tournament going on in this show: Evan Tanner vs. Phil Baroni and the Matt Lindland- Falaniko Vitale. The winners of those two matches will square off for the middleweight championship. That's probably what will happen.
Boxinginsider.com: What happens if Lindland and Tanner win? They could have a problem.
Dana White: No, no. They'll fight. Evan Tanner, Lindland -- any of those guys from Team Quest are all right. They're all real guys -- real fighters. Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson would fight each other, and Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland would fight each other. Those guys have no problem fighting each other. Their attitude is: 'We beat up on each other every day in the gym, why not get paid for it?'
Boxinginsider.com: This show is the prelude to the middleweight championship?
Dana White: Pretty much.
Boxinginsider.com: Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie are being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Give me your thoughts, first of all, on their contribution to the sport -- Ken Shamrock.
Dana White: They're both pioneers of their sport. They started it, and they're still in it. They've done more than anybody I can think of to help promote the sport and to be great ambassadors for the sport in general. It was a no-brainer picking those two to be inducted.
Boxinginsider.com: I talked to Ken yesterday -- he did a whole series of radio interviews yesterday. He thinks he'll be healthy by the end of January. What do you think the odds are of seeing Ken Shamrock soon?
Dana White: Very, very good. He wants to fight again. I think this year is going to be a very exciting year for the UFC -- just with the light heavyweight division alone where you've got Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, Ken Shamrock, and Rich Franklin.
Boxinginsider.com: What about Royce Gracie? I've asked him this, and he says 'I talk to Dana all the time' -- and I'm sure he does… Is he ever going to be in the UFC? Is he ever going to get in the ring or are you ever going to put him in the ring?
Dana White: We talk all the time. I'm hearing rumors right now that he's getting paid a million dollars a fight. That's what the rumor is right now. That's awesome. I hope he really is getting paid a million bucks. He's dynamite. I like to see these guys make as much money as they can, but I couldn't… You know, a million dollars over here doesn't make sense.
Boxinginsider.com: This being the tenth anniversary show talk to me about your impression of the first ten years.
Dana White: I’ll tell you I respect Bob Meyrowitz, the former owner. When we bought this company, people don't realize how stripped-down and bare-bones it was. The only thing we owned when we bought this company was the name, “Ultimate Fighting Championship.” That was all he had left. He didn't own anything else -- he had sold it all away. That's what he had to do to keep the show alive during the dark years when he couldn't get it back on pay-per-view. Since then, we've acquired back all the assets that were sold away.
The first ten years were the groundwork for where we are today. Bob kept it alive long enough for a company to come in and take it over that would give it a good shot at blowing up and becoming main-stream.
Boxinginsider.com: What about the next ten years?
Dana White: I think the next ten years are going to be great. I think this thing is going to gain momentum and eventually will break through with the TV deal. I'll give you an example. We've had two meetings so far with a major network. Thursday, the day of our weigh-in, Lorenzo and I won't be there -- we're actually jumping in a helicopter and flying over to New York for another TV meeting with the same company. We'll helicopter back hopefully to make it in time for the weigh-in. So, we think we're very close to a TV deal -- and we've been close three times already.
Boxinginsider.com: What are you looking at in terms of a TV show -- is it going to be a similar format to what they ran in Britain on SKY TV, or something different?
Dana White: We'd like to do something different -- like a Tuesday night fight. Remember Tuesday night fights on USA?
Boxinginsider.com: Sure. How about Friday night fights?
Dana White: Yep. On ESPN. We'll try to do something like that. I'd say Tuesday night fights because that was probably one of the best boxing shows ever formatted. I liked the way it was done. It had a great following every Tuesday night, and they had great talent. When you look back at Tuesday night fights and the people who fought in there: Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya -- anybody that you can think of who made it big, got their start-up from Tuesday night fights. I think that's the format we need to break into mainstream. You highlight these fighters every week and you end up turning them into pay-per-view stars. The format would be all up-and-coming guys, which would be like a point five show for us. It would headline with a Baroni or a Vitor. They would be the main event on the card.
Boxinginsider.com: As it is now, how difficult is it to get new talent?
Dana White: There are a lot of good guys out there. That's the thing about this sport right now -- there are so many great fighters out there. There's a ton of talent just being wasted -- that nobody ever sees or ever will see.
Boxinginsider.com: More so than just finding the talent, but actually getting the talent in there… That's the hardest part?
Dana White: That's what I'm saying. That's my point. There a lot of great fighters out there but no vehicle to expose them.
Boxinginsider.com: OK just a couple of things I want to ask you about the Cabbage Tank fight. What does Tank need to do to restore his reputation in this fight?
Dana White: He just needs to win. And I'll tell you something you're going to find out -- Tank's taking this fight very seriously. I'm sure a lot of people noticed when he was on the Jimmy Kimmell Show, he's in much better shape than he was in the past. He's down to 230. He's in great shape. He's working very hard for this fight -- and we'll see what happens.
There’s a headline fight -- Matt Hughes.
Boxinginsider.com: I hate to ask this question, but is Matt Hughes his own worst enemy?
Dana White: He's just too good.
Boxinginsider.com: What do you do with a champion like Matt Hughes?
Dana White: It's true -- he's tough, man. I just don't see anybody beating him right now. I just can't see him being beaten. I can see that guy walking away when he's done and saying, “I'm done,” and retiring the belt. We're having a hard time finding opponents for him. We finally got Frank Trigg to come out and fight him. (It's going to be interesting.)
We've brought everybody in: [Hayato] Sakurai, [Carlos] Newton, [Sean] Sherk. There are not many left…
Boxinginsider.com: Any final thoughts that you want to pass on?
Dana White: The Legends Autograph Signing Session. We did a viewers' choice award, and people picked the ten greatest fighters of all time. We have all the legends -- they're going to be there. They're going to do an autograph-signing at the Mohegan Sun from three to six o'clock. We also have put together a tenth anniversary program with all their old pictures, all their old data, and all the pictures of the fighters so that people can come in and get them all signed and have a really cool tenth anniversary souvenir.
Boxinginsider.com: November 21st, right?
Dana White: Right. At the Mohegan Sun.
Boxinginsider.com: All right Dana. Thank you very much for your time, etc.
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