I have never put much thought into the back and forth banter that exists between Jared Shaw and Dana White. Quite frankly, as promoters, their job is to promote their respective business and put asses in the seats. P.T. Barnum, perhaps the most well known promoter of all time was never shy when he claimed his primary goal was to "put money in his own coffers." Jared and Dana are no different in this regard.
Dana White is often criticized for underpaying his fighters, being outspoken, and downright cocky. Another thing Dana White is an unbiased observer at ringside, understanding that any fight, even a lopsided match up carries a human element in which anything can and will happen.
Some outcomes will surely benefit the organization better than others but as the promoter Dana never shows any favoritism while sitting ringside. It is safe to assume that while watching a Brock Lesnar fight, Dana is internally pulling for him, as he knows promoting Brock would bring countless rewards, but he wears his poker face regardless.
This brings me to Jared Shaw. In his first CBS main event, Kimbo was in trouble on the ground and while the punches from James Thompson were not doing much damage, there was action and Thompson did continue his assault. As the soft punches rained down, Jared Shaw could be seen at ringside, yelling hysterically at the referee to “stand the fight up” knowing Kimbo could not possibly win if the fight stayed on the ground.
Last night in the main event Seth Petruzelli had Kimbo in trouble immediately and again we have Jared Shaw in clear view at ringside yelling hysterically at the referee, complaining about blows to the back of the head.
If a promoter wants to bring a fighter along slow and make matches that play to his strengths there is not much we as the viewing public can do short of refusing to watch.
Jared Shaw sees the financial upside to Kimbo Slice continuing to win and this is no different than Dana White’s view of Brock Lesnar. This is however where the comparisons stop. While Dana sits at ringside in an unbiased manner, Shaw has now twice shown an over the top reaction to Kimbo being in trouble, going so far on both occasions to hysterically yell at the referee.
This public reaction is extreme favoritism at best, while trying to influence the actions of a referee is unethical and borderline illegal under most state athletic commission rules and should not be allowed to continue.
If Jared Shaw cannot control his favoritism and emotions he should watch Kimbo’s fights from the dressing room. In doing so, he will save himself the embarrassment of the inevitable slow motion replays showing him yelling hysterically at the referee.
12 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jake Dixon 9 months ago
Great artiicle man.
I totally agree with you on this. To me it shows again on what kind of originazation EliteXC is and if your "figure head" is trying to influence a fight by favoring his cash cow fighter, then that company loses credability and makes me wonder how far they would go to keep their cash cow protected.
EliteXC is going to get alot of publicity in the next few days, but in the long haul, this kills them having Kimbo get knocked out and I feel it's only a matter of time before we don't have to worry about Jared Shaw's screaming as EliteXC will be gone.
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Barry Turner 9 months ago
You are dead on that is why the UFC has some respect yes Dana is cocky and yes he might not pay the best? But look at what he has done to MMA. he has used the money smart and made wise investments in the future of mma. I think that Karma catches everyone and Karma just Found Show timeand Jared Shaw took it on the Jaw when KIMBO FELL!!!!!!!
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Bob Miles 9 months ago
Thanks, aside from the occasional comment this was my first effort at writing an MMA article. I appreciate the feedback.
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Michael Comeau 9 months ago
Wow, I completely forgot about shaw's ringside activities at the Thompson fight. Bob, I just became a fan of yours!
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Dorothy Willis 9 months ago
Very good article and you picked up on something I completely missed. Five stars for sure! Good first outing. Welcome to the MMA community.
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J Wright 9 months ago
wat a crappy oganization
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dean tardio 9 months ago
very interesting take, pretty hard to disagree
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The Yacman Ron Yacovetti 9 months ago
I think this is great that you point it out. I worked alongside Jared Shaw at ProElite and it pains me to see that too. Dana doesn't show his personal side when it comes to business things. Such enthusiasm should be spent in the gym, pushing his favorite fighter to prepare enough so he can actually lay back and watch the fight when it happens.
Yacman
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Ultimate Fighter 9 months ago
Dana White was right in calling Jared Shaw a retard, good article buy the way.
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Kyle Bean 9 months ago
Superb!
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ALI REXA 9 months ago
Is it true this Elite XC is sixty plus million in the hole and this this piss ant degenerate VP is ill concerned? Perhaps he would be welcomed with open arms in the mortgage industry when this falters. Also, he reiterates it’s for MMA and the fighters. Please! Then he would not have been so vocal and biased when KIMBO got worked for the sake of his Kimbo’s safety and “respect for the sport” NO CREDIBILITY IN MY OPINION
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Thomas Brown 9 months ago
inquisitive
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