Dana White sat down yesterday with Pramit Mohapatra of SI.com to discuss a variety of issues. Below are some of the highlights from their conversation.
Dana White Talks About His Relationship With Couture And If There Personal Friendship is over:
Apparently it is for him. The thing [with Couture] hit me out of nowhere. I never expected this, I never saw it coming. Now, we’re in a situation where I expect Randy Couture to live up to his obligations. He signed a contract less than a year ago with us and I expect him to honor it.
Dana White On Ongoing Network Discussions:
I guarantee we’re going to be on a network, and soon.
Dana White On Why The UFC Doesn’t Release What Fighters Make In The UFC:
I don’t care about it. I don’t like to talk about money. For me, what I love about this sport is the sport is still pure. It’s one of the things I hate about boxing. A lot of things destroyed the sport of boxing — a lot of different things. Corruption between the sanctioning organizations to the promoters themselves looking short-term at the sport not long-term — it’s about how much money can I put in my pocket right here right now. Right down to the fighters themselves not wanting to fight, just getting a paycheck and getting the hell out of there. To me, it’s about the fighting. It’s about these guys cementing their legacy and becoming champions. At the end of the night, when you’ve bought a ticket to the fight or you bought the pay-per-view, it’s all about seeing great fights, and not just one headline fight — a whole card full of great fights with great fighters. I don’t go to a fight to see Floyd Mayweather win. I want to go to a fight to see Floyd Mayweather fight. I want to see these guys fight.
That’s what you get in the UFC still. It’s not about money to me. Trust me when I tell you the guys are making damn good money. They’re getting paid. The company’s making money, everybody’s making money. But it’s about the fights. I don’t care about the money. I don’t even like talking about money. The fans show up, they get autographs with the fighters, they get stuff signed that they bring. The sport is very fan-friendly, approachable, and it’s not about the money.
Dana White On Mark Cuban:
DW: I don’t think HDNet Fights earns my respect. Mark Cuban does as a businessman. I’m thrilled — thrilled — that Mark Cuban’s involved in this sport because he’s going to spend a lot of money and, when you get these guys — even if it’s the lower-level guys, like the people I have no respect whatsoever for the people at Pro Elite or IFL or any of these other organizations, I have no respect for those guys at all. But, I’m glad they’re here. They’re going to come in, they’re going to spend a lot of money, the fighters will get some experience and get some wins under their belt and they’ll make some money. They’re the minor leagues. And, eventually these guys will end up in the UFC. A guy like Mark Cuban and now he’s talking with Floyd Mayweather — Floyd Mayweather is running around with $70 million in his pocket right now and we know Floyd loves to spend money. Cuban is smart. I’m sure he’s pulling Floyd in to invest in this thing and it’s good for everybody. I love it.
