UFC President Dana White tries to leave the disciplinary actions to the athletic commissions that oversee MMA, but sometimes he has to deal with the fighters more directly. Middleweights Chael Sonnen, who recently pled guilty to a felony fraud charge after failing a steroid test last year, and Michael Bisping, who landed a blatantly illegal knee to the face of a grounded Jorge Rivera and then spat on his coaches after the bout, are two fighters who are currently giving White headaches. He spoke to MMA Fighting about how he plans to deal with the two troublemakers:
Dana White on:
Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones
– 0:28 The idea of Jon Jones and Rashad Evans not fighting each other came from the camps
– 1:03 Greg Jackson doesn’t want one of the them to leave (or more), it’s bad for business
– 1:25 MMA isn’t a team sport, close friends that don’t want to fight each other is “bullsh*t”
– 1:95 Rashad is still the number one contender
– 3:11 Fighters fight for their family, it’s a job and you have a small window of opportunity
Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva
– 3:45 GSP has never turned down a fight and neither has Anderson Silva
– 4:15 It’s a fantasy fight, if all the stars line up, both would absolutely take the fight
– 4:40 Maybe the Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami fight does happen, Yes (there is a chance of Silva vs. Okami happening)
Michael Bisping
– 5:13 Bisping didn’t get a bonus for UFC 127, that hurts worse than anything
– 6:00 I let him know how I felt about it and what I expect of him in the future
– 6:30 The knee was intentional and Bisping absolutely meant to spit on that guy
– 6:45 The UFC can’t suspend him, the Athletic commission does that
Chael Sonnen
– 6:55 We froze his contract until he Sonnen gets his personal life together
– 8:00 No idea when Sonnen is coming back, he has the hearing coming up in April
UK / Ireland / England
– 9:05 We acquired Strikeforce because we need more fighters, we need more fights, we need more shows
– 9:00 Yes, we’re coming back to England and Ireland. When, I don’t know
9 p.m. ET Start Time
– 9:45 A study was done and everybody wanted it earlier
– 10:00 The 9 p.m. ET start time will be permanent starting with UFC 129 and continue every event after that
Thiago Silva
– 10:20 No update, Not sure what’s going on at this point in time
Brandon Vera
– 10:30 Vera is back in the UFC
HT: MMAFighting.com