Dana White spoke to Karyn Bryant recently and addressed many big questions in the UFC, including the controversy over someone on Saturday’s UFC on Fox 4 card getting a title shot, the idea of Nick Diaz taking on Anderson Silva and what impact the Olympics could have on the ratings Saturday night.
First, the video:
On the impact the Olympics could have on the rating for the Fox show:
They’re bigger than I thought. I actually was talkin smack. I was like ‘…the Olympics…whatever” but holy s—, they’re pulling some amazing numbers. So…we’ll see what happens, ya know? It is what it is.
More quotes and some quick analysis after the jump…
On the controversy surrounding the UFC’s choice to award a title shot to someone on the card:
People went crazy. They didn’t love that idea [Vera vs. Shogun winner getting a title shot]. The fans spoke and I answered.
…
I think they didn’t love the idea of Brandon, number one. And, number two, why not Machida, why not Bader? And I agreed. I said, okay, here’s what we’ll do. The guy who wins most impressively on Saturday night will get the next shot.
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People start to think because Jones has been so dominant for a year and a half that there’s no other fights out there for him. That’s what they’ve been saying about Anderson Silva since 2006. As these fights unfold on Saturday, believe me…there will be people rumbling on Monday about somebody.
Any chance that Nick Diaz gets a shot at Anderson Silva?
No. No. Alright, so, you lost at 170 to Carlos Condit, you were fighting for a shot at the 170 pound. Losing at 170 does not give you the opportunity to fight the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world at 185. You know, would Nick Diaz against Anderson Silva be fun and interesting and whatever? Absolutely. Any time Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva steps in there, it’s fun and exciting. It just makes no sense in any universe.
Quick analysis: Shooting down the Diaz fight makes a bit of sense I suppose, Diaz didn’t “earn” the fight, regardless of how much sense it makes to someone like me who loves “the big fight.” But he’s discussing the fact that they’re looking at four men that Jones already beat convincingly fighting for a title shot, two of whom no one on Earth thinks is near a title shot (Vera and Bader).
But it’s pretty shocking that Dana is surprised that the Olympics are doing good numbers. Every four years they do big numbers, why would you expect anything less?