Dana White: A Predictable and Hypocritical Promoter

Like a pack of sharks that smell blood, it’s become customary for media members and mixed martial arts fans alike to wait on pins and needles for the thoughts of UFC president Dana White following a fight card that doesn’t hold forth under the Zuffa umbrella.

It takes literally no effort on the reporter’s part to get White to fill an audio recorder with quote-worthy material, but it’s an act that has become almost too predictable.

Case and point: last weekend’s Strikeforce card.

The event made for an entertaining two hours, both headline fighters came away looking like a million bucks and most of all, there were nearly 5.5 million viewers who witnessed it.

Despite the overall rating which is rumored to loom around 2.5, the show was a success. America got it’s first primetime exposure to perhaps the greatest MMA fighter to ever grace the planet and the next time Fedor Emelianenko’s emotionless mug is plastered on a TV screen, more people will tune in.

Apparently White’s interpretation of the 5.46 million viewers who watched Emelianenko’s second-round TKO of Brett Rogers was that it proves no one gave a (expletive) about him.

It’s a tough number to gauge because it would be unfair to compare Emelianenko’s network debut to that of Kimbo Slice, whose fights against James Thompson and Roy Nelson both channeled over six million viewers.

And due to CBS’s accessibility, it’s tough to put those numbers aside that of UFC’s Spike TV forays, although Fedor/Rogers did outdraw the 2008 summer scrap between Anderson Silva and James Irvin.

Saying nobody cares about Emelianenko is foolhardy and just plain old sour grapes on White’s part. Like any successful businessman, it’s upsetting when you’re accustomed to getting everything you want and things don’t go your way just one time.

It doesn’t take an idiot to realize that White would be spearheading the Emelianenko fandom campaign in a heartbeat if he signed with the UFC, because at the end of the day, as hot under the collar as White’s comments may make fight fans, he’s a promoter.

Like someone with White’s abrasive personality is going to laud his competition, especially when arguably the world’s top fighter resides under their banner. Emelianenko could have run a gauntlet of Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and Antonio Silva on Saturday night and all White would point out is Werdum’s shortcomings in the UFC and how Cain Velasquez would slaughter Silva.

Just look at how White belittled Rogers’ performance. Sure, Rogers may have gained a bit of a moral victory with fight fans for lasting as long as he did against the Russian, but the immediate counterpoint is how Rogers would fair against Velasquez or heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

The two fighters have a combined 12 professional fights. One with a staggering lack of power and the one who renowned striking deity Frank Mir put on ice skates.

If you want the White public relations machine at it’s finest, just look at his handling of the polarizing Kimbo Slice.

When EliteXC’s heart was still beating, you couldn’t pay White to praise the YouTube sensation for committing himself to MMA and helping the sport get primetime exposure, but the second he’s competing on “The Ultimate Fighter,” White will spin things whichever way he can to convince fans of Slice’s legitimacy.

Watch Slice’s outing against Nelson and point out one thing that warranted head-over-heals praise for Kimbo from onlookers. This isn’t to take anything away from Slice, since many assumed he was in over his head to begin with, but White’s game of promoter is just staggering.

When finale time rolls around for “TUF 10,” there’s a strong chance that three of the reality show’s fighters will grace the main card: the two finalists and Slice. The two fighters who whittled the field from 16 down to two, the fighter who was eliminated in the first round of competition,didn’t even place in the top eight fighters overall.

The event will likely draw a stout rating compared to previous “TUF” finale installments. Joe Rogan will wave his Kimbo pom-poms to the point of nausea and win or lose, Ferguson will be guaranteed at least one more fight in the UFC—likely on a Fight Night card.

Just another fun, little speck in White’s hypocritical game of businessman and promoter and with good reason, we shouldn’t expect anything less.