Since taking over as head of the promotion, UFC President Dana White has asserted himself as the face of the company. His abrasive and uncouth straight-talk is now a staple of the UFC package. Most recently, Dana’s words made waves when he scathingly criticized Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his coach Greg Jackson for turning down Chael Sonnen as an injury replacement for Dan Henderson at UFC 151. Without a strong draw to headline the card, White was forced to cancel the event.
MMA Junkie caught up with Dana to see if he ever considers stepping away from the UFC. White definitively says that it’s not even a possibility for him at this point. On top of that White says that he has a lot to look forward to as the head of the promotion:
The stuff that’s happening right now, I was saying this 10 years ago. People thought I was [expletive] crazy. Everything we’re doing now, I said we would do 10 years ago. I’m telling you right here today, wait until you see what we do in the next five years. And I think that I would be pussing out and [expletive] everybody – I think that I would be screwing a lot of people if I walked away. It would be a really selfish move, and I don’t think I could do it anyway. I don’t want to.
There’s still a lot to be done. It’s probably the most egotistical thing you’ll ever hear me say, but I honestly believe it won’t happen without me. If anything ever happened to Lorenzo (Fertitta), too, it would be devastating to the business. It would be devastating to the entire industry – not just the UFC.
Shortly after this interview was published at MMA Junkie, it was reposted on The Underground forums with a revised and eye-catching title – ‘DFW: MMA won’t get to next level without Me’. The UFC president did not take kindly to the misleading title and responded quickly on the site:
dfw jr – i hate when these websites put douchey f*cking quotes from everyone and take what was said totally out of context. i get that u need hits and traffic and i never complain but give me a f*ckin break!! this is not how i said it or what i meant and all the reporters that were there know it. what i said was we have a game plan for the next 5 years and work CRAZY f*cking hard to get what needs to be done, done! once that sh*t gets done then who cares who runs it. i know we will do everything in our power to make it happen. we are commited to building this sport. so the UG puts up the cockiest lookin pic of me up and says i say ‘mma won’t get to the next level without me” F*CKIN BS!
For their part, The Underground edited the title of the post and issued a public apology. However, before that, White engaged several of their members in some not-so-friendly conversation. After the jump, check out how Dana responded with his typical candidness.
guess what dickhead harmon whistler? do u really think i said hey put me on the first cover of UFC mag!? the people who produced the mag made that dec. so STFU clown unless u know what ur talking about.
oh ya i cry about being takin out of context!! f—— never!! i don’t give a s— how things are taken but this one is f—— annoying because that is not even CLOSE to how it was said. so f— you too rrg
hey kevsh, i have been hearing that kind of goofy s— from guys like you for 10 years and every year as the sport gets bigger and bigger we continue to shove it up your ass year after year. rrg, the best thing about me being me and doing s— the way that i want to is i get to tell clowns like u to GO F— YOURSELF and if you don’t like the way i talk or act then GO AWAY!! unfortunatley other guys who run their sports dont have that luxury.
ok, UG saw that stupid headline and had to tell you how i felt. of course always a couple dickheads on here 🙂 have a great weekend. see you in toronto