Dana White Sends Harsh Message To Fighters
UFC President Dana White has made his feelings known.
That message that White has decided to send is with fighters hand picking fights and he’s tired of it.
If you recall, White had issues with featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez not accepting a fight that was offered to him. Rodriguez had been released by the promotion after he refused to accept a fight that was offered to him.
The prospect was offered to fight fellow prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov at the upcoming UFC 227 pay-per-view event. In White’s statement at the time, he claimed that Rodriguez previously turned down an offer to fight Ricardo Lamas.
However, it was recently revealed that Rodriguez will return to the promotion and fight once again.
White recently appeared on the UFC Unfiltered podcast (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting) and during the interview, he discussed dealing with some fighters who refuse certain opponents.
“Listen, I get into these things where this is the fight business and the UFC is the elite of the elite in mixed martial arts,” White said. “You get into these situations where you get these guys that don’t want to fight certain people and if you don’t want to fight certain people, this probably isn’t the place for you.
“I’m looking for people that want to be world champions that want to f**king fight the best in the world, and if you’re not that guy, then there’s plenty of other places where you can go and make money. This place isn’t for you.”
“That’s what I’ve run into with a few guys. You’re going to see more of it. There’s more coming today. I’m not f**king around anymore here. If you don’t want to fight, don’t sign here. If you want to hand pick fights, don’t sign a contract here. This isn’t the right place for you.”
Having issues with fighters is nothing new to the UFC President as he has butted heads with a fighter who have wanted more control over their careers.
The most notable issue was with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture who frequently had friction with White over booking decisions and his contract.
“Very rare that this happened in the old days,” White said. “Guys came out and fought whoever they had to fight next and that was the way it went. These new guys come out and want to hand pick fights and do this stuff, that’s not gonna work for you here.”
“You’re here to fight and you’re here to become a world champion” White said. “If that is not what you are here for, this is not the place for you. You can go many other places. They’re paying guys great money out there right now and a lot of times you can go out there and make more money than you’re making here. Knock yourself out because that’s where you belong. You don’t belong here.”
