Dana White vs. Russia, Round VII
Jake Rossen Nov 11, 2009
Dana White has a better understanding of media relations than
virtually any sports personality alive. Beat writers want
inflammatory quotes; White gives it to them. It’s the reason he’s
such a pervasive presence, and it’s helped make his brand
synonymous with combat sports. Geniality is boring. Meltdowns
create hits and move copy.
Saturday’s Strikeforce telecast is an open invitation to solicit White, because everyone involved knows what they’re going to get. It’s approaching performance art.
“CBS made its biggest mistake partnering with a tiny, small show
with a roster no one cares about,” White told Yahoo Sports
Wednesday. (Wind him up and watch him go.) “Just because you read
on MMA.TV that someone is a superstar doesn’t make it true. This
should prove that no one out there gives a [expletive] about
Fedor.”
White is referring to the roughly 5.5 million viewers who tuned in for the Fedor Emelianenko/Brett Rogers bout, a number that bests the 4.7 million who tuned in to see Anderson Silva embarrass James Irvin in the summer of 2008. And if you believe White went on to proclaim that “no one gives a [expletive] about Anderson Silva,” you are an interesting person.
Thankfully, Yahoo’s contributor left the recorder on. “If I hear any of you guys [sportswriters] calling Fedor the best pound-for-pound, I’m going to go postal,” White raved. “Do you think Brett Rogers would have lasted two minutes with Brock [Lesnar]? What do you think Cain Velasquez would do to him?”
What Velasquez would do to him is speculation, but we know what Emelianenko would do to the guy about to fight Velasquez for the UFC’s number-one contender’s slot: Emelianenko punched a hole in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s head on three separate occasions. So either he’s really a pretty good fighter, or White concedes he’s granting title opportunities to washouts.
This could go on for days. Some purists are going to seize up at the mention of these comments, but a sizable number of fans with a more recreational interest take White at his word. Strikeforce really didn’t need an Emelianenko. They needed a Dana White.
Saturday’s Strikeforce telecast is an open invitation to solicit White, because everyone involved knows what they’re going to get. It’s approaching performance art.
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White is referring to the roughly 5.5 million viewers who tuned in for the Fedor Emelianenko/Brett Rogers bout, a number that bests the 4.7 million who tuned in to see Anderson Silva embarrass James Irvin in the summer of 2008. And if you believe White went on to proclaim that “no one gives a [expletive] about Anderson Silva,” you are an interesting person.
Thankfully, Yahoo’s contributor left the recorder on. “If I hear any of you guys [sportswriters] calling Fedor the best pound-for-pound, I’m going to go postal,” White raved. “Do you think Brett Rogers would have lasted two minutes with Brock [Lesnar]? What do you think Cain Velasquez would do to him?”
What Velasquez would do to him is speculation, but we know what Emelianenko would do to the guy about to fight Velasquez for the UFC’s number-one contender’s slot: Emelianenko punched a hole in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s head on three separate occasions. So either he’s really a pretty good fighter, or White concedes he’s granting title opportunities to washouts.
This could go on for days. Some purists are going to seize up at the mention of these comments, but a sizable number of fans with a more recreational interest take White at his word. Strikeforce really didn’t need an Emelianenko. They needed a Dana White.
