Dana White Interview 9/3/07
Sept 3, 2007 17:57:23 GMT -5
Post by LWPD on Sept 3, 2007 17:57:23 GMT -5
Funny and informative...questions in bold for readability purposes
Dana White Interview 9/3/07
Courtesy of CBS Sports.com
CBSSports.com: You confirmed during the UFC 75 conference call that you would be meeting with Fedor on Thursday. How did that meeting go?
Dana White: It didn't go well.
Q: Can you elaborate a little bit?
DW: I don't like to talk about contract negotiations with the public. but it didn't go well. These guys are crazy.
Q: You also announced that Renato "Babalu" Sobral was let go from his UFC contract. A lot of people agree with the move while some feel his crime was no worse than what B.J. Penn did to Jens Pulver at the live season finale of TUF 5. In your mind, what was the difference?
DW: I think that Babalu's (choke) was very malicious. B.J. held the choke, they don't like each other, the ref jumped in and stopped it. B.J. didn't jump up there and say, "He was a punk; he was a motherf-----. He had to pay for it. He had to learn some respect."
Listen, at the end of the day, I'm no pussy; this is the fight business. OK? In jiu-jitsu, that stuff happens all the time. Guys will get aggravated and hold the choke and make them tap. If it had been an arm, a leg, or an ankle, I don't think the guy should have been allowed to fight again in this sport, let alone the UFC.
Was it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong. And the way that he carried himself after was wrong. That's not what this sport is about. A lot of these guys are good sports; there's a lot of camaraderie. But there's a lot of guys out there that are idiots and guys get into fights sometimes. Sometimes there's some heat, there's some bad blood, whatever it might be. But I don't like the way that he carried himself through the whole ordeal. It's not what we're about.
Q: When Noah Thomas and Marlon Sims engaged in a senseless street fight on TUF 5, it ultimately cost them any future they might have had with the UFC. Do you consider Sobral's decision to hold in his choke after the tap to be a worse offense?
DW: Yeah. Yeah, I do. Those guys aren't UFC fighters -- they wanted to be. The guys that you see on The Ultimate Fighter aren't UFC fighters. They're dreaming to be some day and one guy from each group will make it. This guy (Sobral) has been a UFC fighter for a long time. He's fought for world titles before. He's been around and it's more than just that (the Heath incident). It's more than just that. Two weeks before the fight, Babalu got into a fight in Miami at a club.
So it's more than just a choke. And I don't like talking about it. And all the people on the Internet, guess what? It is what it is. There's more to it than just the choke and yeah, I don't like the way he handled himself -- it was bad. Babalu needed to go. Babalu was lucky that he was still able to fight in the show after being involved in an altercation at a club the week before.
Q: After the arrest for misdemeanor battery and trespassing at the Seminole Reservation Casino in Florida, did you consider disciplinary action?
DW: I'm not your typical head of a sports organization where I got to get up there and say all the right s---. I'm in the fight game. These guys are fighters; they're tough guys. And things happen sometimes. Do I think that the media was totally overreacting about the Babalu thing? Some of them were. Yeah. But they're not fighters, they don't get it. It's a whole different world, this fight world. Whether it's boxing, kickboxing, MMA, whatever it is, these guys are different types of people, and I understand them. I really do. I'm not overly sensitive about things or the image of the company. But Babalu is showing a bad track record lately. I don't like the direction he's been going in, and he needs to straighten his life out if he wants to continue to be a professional athlete.
Q: Did you talk to him about this on a one-on-one basis?
DW: His agent. I talked to his agent, his manager. And he doesn't disagree.
Q: If Babalu goes out and gets his life together, will he be welcomed back to the UFC?
DW: Absolutely. I like Babalu. He's a good guy and a good fighter. Maybe he's just going through a weird time right now? Listen, we all make mistakes; we all do stupid s---. Like I said, had it been a knee, an elbow, or an ankle, it would be a whole different story.
Q: Is there a main event set for the UFC 78 card in Newark?
DW: No, we're still working on it.
Q: You commented on contract talks with Brock Lesnar after the weekend and pretty much guaranteed he'd be fighting for the UFC. Has there been any movement toward an official deal since you made those comments?
DW: Not yet. But the reason that I can say that is because I like Brock Lesnar as a person. He and I both get along personally and I like his management team. So usually when I sit down and start talking to people I've got a pretty good feeling of how I think things are going to go. I'm confident that I think I can come to a deal with these people.
Q: If Lesnar signs with the UFC, do you think he'll face top competition right out of the gate, or will he have to work his way up the ladder?
DW: There's nothing but (top competition) in the UFC. You don't walk into the UFC and fight easy guys -- it doesn't happen.
Q: But would he fit right into the title picture or would he have to build his way up?
DW: He's only had one MMA fight, but the guy has been wrestling his whole life. I've talked to people who I respect in the business who have trained with him and have trained him and say this guy is really talented. I see a lot of potential for him.
Q: Is there still interest on the part of the UFC in Kurt Angle?
DW: You know, I've talked to Kurt Angle a couple of times, but the thing with Kurt Angle was I never really thought Kurt Angle was taking it serious. Brock Lesnar is taking this s--- serious.
Q: What things has Angle said and done that have left you with the impression he's not taking it seriously?
DW: Because he wasn't willing to train and go to one of these camps and train with them and start to learn. He wanted to come right into the UFC. Brock Lesnar has been training with an awesome camp; he's already had a fight in a smaller organization. He's taking it serious.
If you look at Brock Lesnar, he's young. Take away all of his wrestling credentials, which are enough to get you in anyway, and look at the size of him. It's more serious to me that Brock Lesnar would fight in the UFC.
Dana White Interview 9/3/07
Courtesy of CBS Sports.com
CBSSports.com: You confirmed during the UFC 75 conference call that you would be meeting with Fedor on Thursday. How did that meeting go?
Dana White: It didn't go well.
Q: Can you elaborate a little bit?
DW: I don't like to talk about contract negotiations with the public. but it didn't go well. These guys are crazy.
Q: You also announced that Renato "Babalu" Sobral was let go from his UFC contract. A lot of people agree with the move while some feel his crime was no worse than what B.J. Penn did to Jens Pulver at the live season finale of TUF 5. In your mind, what was the difference?
DW: I think that Babalu's (choke) was very malicious. B.J. held the choke, they don't like each other, the ref jumped in and stopped it. B.J. didn't jump up there and say, "He was a punk; he was a motherf-----. He had to pay for it. He had to learn some respect."
Listen, at the end of the day, I'm no pussy; this is the fight business. OK? In jiu-jitsu, that stuff happens all the time. Guys will get aggravated and hold the choke and make them tap. If it had been an arm, a leg, or an ankle, I don't think the guy should have been allowed to fight again in this sport, let alone the UFC.
Was it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong. And the way that he carried himself after was wrong. That's not what this sport is about. A lot of these guys are good sports; there's a lot of camaraderie. But there's a lot of guys out there that are idiots and guys get into fights sometimes. Sometimes there's some heat, there's some bad blood, whatever it might be. But I don't like the way that he carried himself through the whole ordeal. It's not what we're about.
Q: When Noah Thomas and Marlon Sims engaged in a senseless street fight on TUF 5, it ultimately cost them any future they might have had with the UFC. Do you consider Sobral's decision to hold in his choke after the tap to be a worse offense?
DW: Yeah. Yeah, I do. Those guys aren't UFC fighters -- they wanted to be. The guys that you see on The Ultimate Fighter aren't UFC fighters. They're dreaming to be some day and one guy from each group will make it. This guy (Sobral) has been a UFC fighter for a long time. He's fought for world titles before. He's been around and it's more than just that (the Heath incident). It's more than just that. Two weeks before the fight, Babalu got into a fight in Miami at a club.
So it's more than just a choke. And I don't like talking about it. And all the people on the Internet, guess what? It is what it is. There's more to it than just the choke and yeah, I don't like the way he handled himself -- it was bad. Babalu needed to go. Babalu was lucky that he was still able to fight in the show after being involved in an altercation at a club the week before.
Q: After the arrest for misdemeanor battery and trespassing at the Seminole Reservation Casino in Florida, did you consider disciplinary action?
DW: I'm not your typical head of a sports organization where I got to get up there and say all the right s---. I'm in the fight game. These guys are fighters; they're tough guys. And things happen sometimes. Do I think that the media was totally overreacting about the Babalu thing? Some of them were. Yeah. But they're not fighters, they don't get it. It's a whole different world, this fight world. Whether it's boxing, kickboxing, MMA, whatever it is, these guys are different types of people, and I understand them. I really do. I'm not overly sensitive about things or the image of the company. But Babalu is showing a bad track record lately. I don't like the direction he's been going in, and he needs to straighten his life out if he wants to continue to be a professional athlete.
Q: Did you talk to him about this on a one-on-one basis?
DW: His agent. I talked to his agent, his manager. And he doesn't disagree.
Q: If Babalu goes out and gets his life together, will he be welcomed back to the UFC?
DW: Absolutely. I like Babalu. He's a good guy and a good fighter. Maybe he's just going through a weird time right now? Listen, we all make mistakes; we all do stupid s---. Like I said, had it been a knee, an elbow, or an ankle, it would be a whole different story.
Q: Is there a main event set for the UFC 78 card in Newark?
DW: No, we're still working on it.
Q: You commented on contract talks with Brock Lesnar after the weekend and pretty much guaranteed he'd be fighting for the UFC. Has there been any movement toward an official deal since you made those comments?
DW: Not yet. But the reason that I can say that is because I like Brock Lesnar as a person. He and I both get along personally and I like his management team. So usually when I sit down and start talking to people I've got a pretty good feeling of how I think things are going to go. I'm confident that I think I can come to a deal with these people.
Q: If Lesnar signs with the UFC, do you think he'll face top competition right out of the gate, or will he have to work his way up the ladder?
DW: There's nothing but (top competition) in the UFC. You don't walk into the UFC and fight easy guys -- it doesn't happen.
Q: But would he fit right into the title picture or would he have to build his way up?
DW: He's only had one MMA fight, but the guy has been wrestling his whole life. I've talked to people who I respect in the business who have trained with him and have trained him and say this guy is really talented. I see a lot of potential for him.
Q: Is there still interest on the part of the UFC in Kurt Angle?
DW: You know, I've talked to Kurt Angle a couple of times, but the thing with Kurt Angle was I never really thought Kurt Angle was taking it serious. Brock Lesnar is taking this s--- serious.
Q: What things has Angle said and done that have left you with the impression he's not taking it seriously?
DW: Because he wasn't willing to train and go to one of these camps and train with them and start to learn. He wanted to come right into the UFC. Brock Lesnar has been training with an awesome camp; he's already had a fight in a smaller organization. He's taking it serious.
If you look at Brock Lesnar, he's young. Take away all of his wrestling credentials, which are enough to get you in anyway, and look at the size of him. It's more serious to me that Brock Lesnar would fight in the UFC.
