MMA Dumb Shit - Special UFC 249 Dana White Edition
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now newsletter. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
Today I present a collection of things UFC president Dana White said around UFC 249, which was canceled in early April.
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Dana White on SportsCenter on March 12 - “That event is going to proceed as planned. We’re working closely with the government if there’s any changes over there, but as of right now, that event is moving forward.” Speaking of UFC London, which was canceled.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 12 - “We always go overboard (on health and safety). In the 25 years that the UFC has been around, there’s never been a death or serious injury in the UFC.” True, but is that more luck than anything? UFC is pushing it’s like trying to stage fights during a global pandemic.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 12 - “I talked to the president and the vice president of the United States today about this and they’re taking this very serious and they’re saying, ‘Be cautious and be careful but live your life and stop panicking. Everybody is panicking and instead of panicking, we’re actually getting out there and working with doctors and health officials and the government t figure out how we can keep the sport safe and how we can continue to put on events.”
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 12 - “We’re actually working with this new technology right now. It’s infrared that checks people’s temperatures when they walk into the arena. Somebody has a high temperature, we pull them aside; we see what’s going on with them.” It’s a thermometer. That’s all.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 14 - “As of now, the (March 28 and April 11) fights can’t happen at the Apex here in Las Vegas. We’re working to find new locations, but the fights will go on. They will continue. We’re not stopping. We will keep finding a way to put on the fights. I’m in the fight business. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and this stuff happens to me every weekend. So, I’m used to this stuff. Not at this level obviously, but this is what we do. And we always make sure that the cards happen, and they will continue to happen.” Events were canceled.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 14 - “Obviously things are changing by the hour. (Saturday) morning they announced new travel restrictions for the U.K. So the fight obviously can’t continue in London, but the fight will go on. We’re working on finding a new venue, likely in the United States, and I have my matchmakers working right now to put together the undercard. The bottom line is that fight is happening, and the main event will go on.” Event did not happen.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 14 - “So we had possibly a couple of different venues for that fight, including Nevada. So now the whole Nevada thing went down. We’re looking for another venue. I hope by 10 o’clock (Sunday) morning I should have two venue options for that fight. That fight will happen. It will go on. The fans are all freaking out about that, do not worry. Khabib versus Tony will happen.” Fight did not happen. Replacement fight did not happen.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 14 - “Unless there’s a total shutdown of the country, where people can’t leave their houses and things like that, these fights will happen. We’re gonna move on. These fights will happen. These guys will compete. We will find venues, and we will figure this thing out. I mean, the only thing that’s gonna stop us is a complete government shutdown, where everybody is confined to their homes.” Fights were canceled.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 16 - “We’re ready to go live on ESPN on Saturday night from Fire Lake Arena Indian reservation in Oklahoma City. We have the card, we have the fighters, but obviously the president just spoke to the country…now they’re saying there should be no more than 10 in a room and that’s impossible, we can’t do it.”
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 16 - “Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov is still on. That will happen.” Fight did not happen. Replacement fight did not happen.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 16 - “We’re going to follow these guidelines, not have more than 10 people in a room. We’re hoping this all clears up by April, and this fight is going to happen. Whatever it takes, probably not in the United States, but this fight is going to happen.” Fight did not happen. Replacement fight did not happen.
Dana White on SportsCenter on March 16 - “Listen, this is what we do. We put fights on every weekend. The fighters want to fight. The fans want to see it. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the fans and the fighters. These guys all want to continue. So, we will. Obviously we’ve had some blowback from the media that covers us, but everybody’s going to have their opinions. We’re going to continue on. These three fights that have been postponed will happen and Khabib (vs) Tony is on for the original date. We’re going to keep fighting.” Fight cards were canceled.
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 - “Think about this: Go online and look at some of these people – and this isn’t a knock, this is just a fact: The weakest, wimpiest people on Earth cover the biggest, baddest sport on Earth,” he said. What do you expect them to say? What do you think they’re gonna say?” Just dumb.
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 - “I have over 350 employees who work for me. Multi-billion-dollar companies are laying off all their employees right now. We haven’t laid off one person at the UFC. And every fighter that fights for me will fight three times this year.” We shall see on the three fights this year.
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 - Everybody’s gonna get paid, we will figure this out, and we will be the first sport back on. And, uh, fuck that shit. Everything will go on.” Have heard nothing about fighters getting paid outside UFC London.
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 -“We’re not canceling anything. We’re postponing. We’re calling it postponing.”
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 -“We will be up and running before any other sport will. Our sport’s different. We have our own arena next door (the UFC Apex).” UFC is not up and running fight cards.
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 -“Listen, the media can talk as much shit as they want. They don’t feed families. They don’t take care of fucking people. They don’t have people that count on them. They don’t have people to support. We’re doing the right thing as far medical testing goes and everything. That’s all we fucking do. That’s nothing new. We were doing that shit way before the coronavirus. We were taking care of people and making sure that everybody’s healthy, and every fighter that’s with me on the road is getting much better medical attention than they are at home – if they’re with me. You know what I mean?” Just dumb
Dana White on Instagram with Kamaru Usman on March 19 -“All my people that are with me, no need to worry. Enjoy your family, spend your time. This is a big vacation until this thing blows over and we will be back on track and we will kick some fucking ass like we always do.” Fighters not getting paid might worry.
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 24 - “I love that we did the lockdown, too.” C’mon now
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 24 - “The question becomes how long are we gonna do this? How long are we really gonna stay in our houses and hide? If the coronavirus is what’s gonna get me, then so be it. It is what it is. The list goes on and on with things that kill people every year. One thing is guaranteed, we’re all gonna die of something.” Wow
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 24- “Since when do Americans run and hide in their freaking houses instead of taking this head on and finding solutions? Protect the people that need to be protected. Whether you’re a coronavirus expert or not, it’s like hiding from cancer. You can’t hide from this thing.” It’s not anything like '“hiding from cancer.”
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 24- “What’s gonna happen next flu season? This thing’s just gonna disappear? No, it’s gonna come back just like the flu. If it’s what’s gonna get you, it’s gonna get you. If the coronavirus is what’s gonna get me, then bring it.” Just dumb
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “I have two or three options in the United States and I have three or four options outside the country. I’m not going to tell you. Everybody is on a need to know basis and nobody needs to know right now.” Event was canceled.
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “Health and safety isn’t something that just popped up on our radar with the coronavirus, it’s something that we deal with every week for the last 20 years. We will make sure…we take care of everybody just like we always do…I’m not giving the public and the media all kinds of information on what I’m doing.” Question was on COVID-19 testing, which White did not address.
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “I’m not acting like some crazy rebel out here with the coronavirus. I’ve done everything I’ve been told to do. When the government said, ‘you can only have this many people,’ there were only that many people. When the government said, ‘you can only have 50 people, there were only 50 people. When it got to 10, that’s a little tough for me to pull off. We stopped we did everything we were told to do.’” White is acting like a crazy rebel.
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “I’ve done everything I’ve been told to do, but this fight’s going to happen.” UFC 249 did not happen.
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “The less the media knows the better…a lot of this hysteria and all this stuff that’s been gone on has been driven by the media. The less the media knows, the better of it is.” Just dumb
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “The less the media and the public know…you don’t need to know. It’s none of your business.” Just dumb
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “The question becomes how long are we going to do this. How long are we going to stay in our houses and hide. If the coronavirus is what’s going to get me, then so be it. It is what it is. Heart disease, car accidents, cancer … the list goes on and on for all these things that kill people every year. You can’t be somebody that’s going to hide in your house for months. You’re going to hide in your house for months, for what?” Wow
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “Since when do Americans run and hide in their friggin’ houses instead of taking taking this thing head on and finding solutions? You find solutions in how we continue to live our lives, protect the people who need to be protected.”
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - “I don’t think I’m a high-risk guy for this thing. Maybe I’m wrong! Then, if I’m wrong, the coronavirus is going to get me. I’m not going to hide! It’s like hiding from cancer, you can’t hide!” Just dumb
Dana White to Kevin Iole on March 25 - "“If you’re a high-risk person this thing’s going to get you. What’s next … flu season, it’s going to come back like the flu. If this thing’s going to get ya, it’s going to get ya. I’ve had a great run. If the coronavirus is what’s going to get me, I’m ready. Bring it. I’m ready, corona. Come get me.” Just dumb
Dana White to Barstool Sports on March 25: - "I’m not telling the media anything! Fuck you. Every day when I wake up, there’s a bullshit story. Or somebody doesn’t like this, somebody doesn’t like that. I don’t give a fuck what you think. On April 18th, you either wanna turn on the TV and watch this fight, or you don’t.” Just dumb
Dana White to Mike Tyson on March 27 - “What happens when flu season comes again next year?" It’s not the flu.
Dana White to Mike Tyson on March 27 - “I think that the media has made this thing scary. People are buying all of the toilet paper there is. If you just look at a lot of things that are going on, it’s wacky and totally driven by fear.” It’s not the media.
Dana White to Mike Tyson on March 27 - “We have to get back to real life and start working again and start getting things going. Let’s figure out solutions.” By holding fights?
Dana White to Mike Tyson on March 27 - “I’m going to try and pull off Tony and Khabib on April 18 and try and get some normalcy back in this country.” Fight didn’t happen, replacement didn’t happen.
Dana White to Mike Tyson on March 27 - “I think that in a year or two, we’re going to be like, ‘holy shit, we shut down the whole world for this thing.” Yeah, probably not.
Dana White to ESPN on April 9 - “Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN ... and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event (next) Saturday.”
Dana White to ESPN on April 9 - “Fight Island is real.”
