Heated Dana White on 'atrocious' NSAC and GSP's comments on taking some time off

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

If the post-UFC 167 press conference had been a cartoon, UFC president Dana White would have been portrayed with a bright red face, steam coming out of his ears and an egg boiling on top of his head. Livid, does not come close to describing White’s mood when he hit the dais to speak to the press inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

White announced the Fight Night bonuses and some upcoming fights and events in a clipped voice. White then launched into what could best be described as a tirade after being asked about a comment that he made that he felt Johny Hendricks deserved the decision over Georges St-Pierre in the evening’s main event:

Does anybody here think that Hendricks didn’t win the fight?

After a prolonged silence, two media members admitted that they had scored it for the champion. White continued:

Did you see Georges get smashed and hurt in the first round? It’s about damage. This is a fight. It’s about whoever inflicts the most damage. He got hurt, he got wobbled, he got dropped. I’m blown away that Georges St-Pierre won that fight.

I’m a promoter. He’s the biggest pay-per-view on the planet for me and I still don’t think he won that fight. I want what’s fair, and that wasn’t fair.

I think the Nevada State Athletic Commission is atrocious. I think the governor needs to step in immediately before these guys destroy this sport like they did boxing.

When asked about what alternatives there were, White kicked things up a notch, saying:

The alternatives are that the governor needs to step in and fix the incompetence that is happening in the state of Nevada that used to be the best commission in the world. It’s absolute 100 percent incompetence, and it needs to stop, and I’m scared to come back here and do fights. I’m afraid of this state.

White’s displeasure with St-Pierre was not based on retirement, because as White saw it, St-Pierre didn’t announce his retirement at all, instead the way the UFC president saw it:

He didn’t say he was going to retire. He said I’m going to take some time off. You don’t just say, hey I’m going to take some time off, maybe I’ll be back, maybe I won’t. You owe it to the fans, you owe it to that belt, you owe it to this company, and you owe it to Johny Hendricks to give him that opportunity to fight again, unless you’re going to retire.

There’s no I’m going to take a hiatus, I’m going to take a leave of absence, whatever it was he was saying, that’s not how it works.

It’s doubtful that we have heard the last from White on the NSAC, Georges St-Pierre and the future of the UFC’s welterweight division.

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About the author

Trent Reinsmith

Trent Reinsmith is a freelance writer based out of Baltimore, MD. He has been covering sports for more than 15 years, with a focus on MMA for most of that time. Trent focuses on the day-to-day business of MMA — both inside and outside the cage — for Bloody Elbow.

Heated Dana White on ‘atrocious’ NSAC and GSP’s comments on taking some time off

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