Two Dana White Interview (WEC, Fmale Fighting, Breakthrough)

The-Iceman-Chuck-Liddell · 06-23-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Dana White barely had time to celebrate the success the June 12 Ultimate Fight Night mixed martial arts show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino before he was on the road again. The Ultimate Fighting Championships President flew immediately to Denver and New York City for business meetings before heading to Ireland for the UFC 72 pay-per-view show and then back to the promotion’s home base of Las Vegas, which is where tonight’s Ultimate Finale 5 card will be aired live on Spike TV. In the following interview conducted after Spencer Fisher’s exciting three-round decision over Sam Stout, White weighed in on the state of UFC, female fighting and the promotion’s recent breakthroughs with the mainstream media. Portions of this interview also ran in today’s edition of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Q: Why is UFC coming so frequently to South Florida?

White: “People always talk about California and Texas being hot spots for mixed martial arts, but South Florida is, too. There’s been a lot of training here for years. One of the best [fighting] teams in the business, American Top Team, is located here. The Hard Rock also is a great venue and the fans are fantastic. Getting [5,100] fans here on a Tuesday night in a thunderstorm? Come on.”

Q: Last month’s UFC 71 pay-per-view received the most mainstream media coverage of any of your previous events. How do you reflect on that?

White: “We broke through to all the major media because of six years of hard work. We just couldn’t be denied any more. We’re kicking everybody’s butt on pay-per-view. It’s the hottest thing with males ages 18 to 34 other than the NFL … If you’re still denying us, you’re just so far off the mark it’s not even funny.”

Q: What did you think of this season of Ultimate Fighter?

White: “I think this is the best season we’ve ever had. That’s a pretty strong statement considering season one was so great. Obviously, there’s a lot of drama and stuff that happens in a reality show. But these kids came to fight this season. At the end of the day, what we’re looking for is the next good fighter. These kids fought.”

Q: How close is UFC to promoting female fighting?

White: “Think about this: When boxing was at it’s peak and women’s boxing started to come out, there weren’t enough women competing in the sport to even make it competitive. Plus, people have had such a hard team seeing the men fight for so long that I think they would have a real hard time seeing women do it. I don’t mean to sound chauvinistic, but women are pretty and soft. Nobody wants to see a girl get punched in the face. I don’t.”

Q: What is most surprising about the recent UFC boom?

White: “Obviously, I believed in this sport and thought we could get here. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, but it’s still a little surreal to me. To be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN covering our weigh-ins live, I’m happy and thrilled … This thing is here to stay.”

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“You acquire another company when they have things that you need or things that you want. The WEC was a small little show in California. They had a good reputation, and they had a good relationship with this Indian reservation at the time. When I went in and bought that company, I had a completely different idea for the WEC. But when I acquired them, we ended up doing something else with them. We ended up putting it on Versus Network and doing a deal with the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. You never know; you might buy a company for one reason, and you might hit it right somewhere else. That WEC deal will be way bigger than the Pride [a premier fight promotion company in Japan] deal, believe it or not.”

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btw I like watching Gina punching girls in the face.

Bomber · 06-23-2007, 06:34 PM

Q: How close is UFC to promoting female fighting?

White: “Think about this: When boxing was at it’s peak and women’s boxing started to come out, there weren’t enough women competing in the sport to even make it competitive. Plus, people have had such a hard team seeing the men fight for so long that I think they would have a real hard time seeing women do it. I don’t mean to sound chauvinistic, but women are pretty and soft. Nobody wants to see a girl get punched in the face. I don’t."

I don't agree with the reasoning (not all women are soft or pretty), but I agree with the conclusion. I don't want to watch women's MMA. If they want to have their own league, and their own shows I certainly have no objection. But I don't ever want to see a women's fight in the UFC displacing the real show.

I heart LNP · 06-23-2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bomber

Q: How close is UFC to promoting female fighting?

White: “Think about this: When boxing was at it’s peak and women’s boxing started to come out, there weren’t enough women competing in the sport to even make it competitive. Plus, people have had such a hard team seeing the men fight for so long that I think they would have a real hard time seeing women do it. I don’t mean to sound chauvinistic, but women are pretty and soft. Nobody wants to see a girl get punched in the face. I don’t."

I don't agree with the reasoning (not all women are soft or pretty), but I agree with the conclusion. I don't want to watch women's MMA. If they want to have their own league, and their own shows I certainly have no objection. But I don't ever want to see a women's fight in the UFC displacing the real show.

Ya, I don't mind women's fights but I would rather them have their own promotion.

Anderson Silvas dope · 06-23-2007, 07:56 PM

I agree with Dana on the topic of women fighting. Two girls punching each other in the face isn't something i enjoy watching. Girls can fight some good MMA though i watched a few fights recently. I don't think the UFC is a place for womens MMA they should have there own league like professional hockey, they have two separate league's for men and women.

khodey · 06-23-2007, 08:24 PM

I personally never want to see female fights intermingled into UFC events. Ive seen a few at hook n shoot, they just dont do it for me. I always end up feeling bad for the one who got beat down because theyre a girl, I dont know its just natural for me.

Also im really enjoying the exposure of the WEC, I had never seen a WEC fight until it came on Vs. They have some very talented fighters.

subgenius · 06-23-2007, 08:33 PM

I've watched some women's kickboxing. The ISKA has had it for years. The WCL recently also has had women fighters on the WCL teams. Their fights have been entertaining and pretty much fast and furious. Maybe they have more to prove than the men, I don't know. I think that women's MMA would be okay. I would watch it, if it were in the UFC or not. But, I don't like the Bodog promotion, so I've not been watching those women fight.

BCguy · 06-23-2007, 08:47 PM

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Originally Posted by subgenius

I've watched some women's kickboxing. The ISKA has had it for years. The WCL recently also has had women fighters on the WCL teams. Their fights have been entertaining and pretty much fast and furious. Maybe they have more to prove than the men, I don't know. I think that women's MMA would be okay. I would watch it, if it were in the UFC or not. But, I don't like the Bodog promotion, so I've not been watching those women fight.

What do you have against Bodog ?

subgenius · 06-23-2007, 08:58 PM

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Originally Posted by BCguy

What do you have against Bodog ?

Not much. I was not happy with production values on some of what I saw. They have Fedor, so that's good for them. I guess I was not happy with it.

Dreamfield · 06-24-2007, 01:04 PM

I love watching women's MMA. A women's only MMA organization would be awesome.

RebLMunkE · 06-24-2007, 03:40 PM

I've watched some of the female fights and most of them were pretty good.....A few of those girls could beat down a few guys I've seen in the bigger shows.

For me I agree with Dana there just isn't enough girls in the sport right now at a high skill level to make a place for them at the top in the UFC.......But I wouldn't be surprised to see a few female matches in the WEC.

Their are big time teams with female fighters training with them so opinion will change for a lot of people in the sport and I’m sure they will try to get a few fights for them at a bigger show......Bodog having female fights is good for them I think they are the only TV show on main cable and network tv that has female fights and airs them so give it some time and I’m sure more people will get to see that their are some really good girl fighters up in MMA.

The UFC is a long way off for the girls but the WEC shouldn’t be I don’t think.

The-Iceman-Chuck-Liddell · 06-24-2007, 05:37 PM

They need a UFFC ultimate female fighting championship

PINOYPRIDE · 06-24-2007, 07:09 PM

I wouldn't mind seeing woman mma fighters such as Gina Garano in the UFC.....