***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[EddieG]

If he doesn't want to ruin his career he'd tell his management team to shut up and sign a contract with the undisputed #1 company in the world.

[Rich]

So you are hoping he ruins his career? Glad we cleared that up.

[EddieG]

Well, if he does the stupid thing and signs for Bellator, then yes.

If he stays with the UFC, I still won't like him, but at least respect his decision to fight the top fighters in the world.

[NobBe Nobbs]

You people are making it sound like the UFC's offered him exactly what he wants but he's still going elsewhere. It's pretty clear what's happening - the two parties' assessment of what Melendez is worth is at odds and, rather than negotiate like a businessman, Dana White is being a fucking moron in the way only he can be a fucking moron, by torching an incredibly skilled fighter and making the situation worse, not better.

I read elsewhere something that would explain a lot of how Dana operates - he attacks fighters personally because he's jealous of them. This is a guy who couldn't cut it as a fighter himself and, even though he's now worth millions and millions of dollars, he's still insecure about it, so he trashes fighters for perceived insults or not being the sort of fighter he wants them to be. Take his handling of the Overeem situation - AO beat the shit out of Frank Mir for three rounds but also played safe, knowing that if he lost he'd be gone immediately, and Dana's reaction is to attack him for fighting smart.

Dana, for all the good he's done for the sport, is now pretty much just a liability. He's a big part of why the UFC still looks bush league in comparison to the big sporting leagues, and I'd much rather see him retire, piss off and spend his days buried in a snowdrift of cocaine than anything else.

[Rich]

Who you callin you people?

[HC]

Be hit the nail on the head about Dana being an unprofessional douchelord, but I like him anyway.His antics keep me interested.

[Benjamin]

Dana is an idiot who knows nothing about grappling and is a lucky shithead because he used to go to school with Lorenzo.

I'm drunk, though, so you can ignore this.

[Walker]

I've felt since the UFC 151 incident that UFC should look to replace Dana White as the face for the media. He is too emotional at the best of times, and at the worst of times he is exactly how Be described. He is not the professional UFC needs in that spot right now. At the same time, the amount of stuff he does behind the scenes makes him difficult to replace.

[Benjamin]

Dana actually is doing the best thing for the UFC right now. UFC holds all the chips, they are the biggest MMA organization in the world (by a LARGE margin), if any fighter tries to leverage by going to another promotion, the public perception will simply be that whichever fighter chose another company over UFC is simply going there to run over cans. All the UFC has to do with a fighter that signs with another company is say that "He isn't fighting the best in the world. He's over at whichever company fighting nobodies" and the majority will agree. Besides, from a business standpoint, what leverage does Gilbert Melendez have? How many butts does he put in seats? What big ratings has he pulled? He's not a Ronda Rousey or a GSP or a Jon Jones. Just being one of the best in the world is not enough, not in the current MMA climate. Dana not showing concern for Gil leaving is totally the right thing, because if he stays, he's fighting the best in the world. If he leaves, he's going off to fight nobodies.

If he went to Bellator, he'll have a big fight or two with Chandler and maybe Alvarez, but after that? He might pose a threat in the long term (and I mean long term), but right now? Dana can just laugh in Gilbert's face.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Dana actually is doing the best thing for the UFC right now.

You're so wrong it hurts. How on Earth can you possibly connect "Dana trashes fighters he doesn't like/thinks are boring" to "Dana is doing the best thing for the UFC"?

[Benjamin]

I only meant for the Gilbert situation. The Alistair thing is because, like I said before sobering up, Dana is kind of an idiot when it comes to in-cage stuff. That one I completely agree with you on, I thought Overeem looked amazing.

[Quom]

Dana actually is doing the best thing for the UFC right now.

You're so wrong it hurts. How on Earth can you possibly connect "Dana trashes fighters he doesn't like/thinks are boring" to "Dana is doing the best thing for the UFC"?

Because he manages to either get them to pull their heads in and sign a lower contract which somehow actually has fan support (see the people here crying about Melendez running to Bellator rather than fighting the best in the world), or they don't re-sign and people buy the narrative that they weren't good enough to compete, whereas in fact it's that the UFC wanted to pay them significantly less than one of these 'bush league' promotions and to have them sign over more things (like video game rights, not to mention the talk of 'uniforms' for fighters).

I can't really see the shame in going elsewhere, UFC is going to be the biggest promotion until they no longer have all the biggest names. Only way Dana changes his tune is if Melendez walks, Jon Jones walks, GSP walks, etc etc. There is no way a boss should be able to talk shit about the people making him money.

[Benjamin]

Dana would challenge that by saying that they're not his employees, they're independent contractors

Edited February 15, 2014 by Benkid

[Walker]

Not to mention all the stuff about UFC blocking certain sponsors.

Honestly I don't think UFC are in a position to be as headstrong. They are having more shows every year and while they can pluck just about anyone up to fill out the cards how long will it take before fans start rejecting them for being thin? They need all the "best" they can get, Melendez as an exciting fighter, he is a main card fighter, and he is in the title picture.

[Benjamin]

I think they definitely are in a position to be as headstrong. It's pretty simple in MMA, except for a certain number of fighters, fighters definitely need the UFC more than the UFC needs them. They have most probably a 90-95 percent lock on the best fighters in the world. They are in no way thin, they have 400+ fighters.

As for Melendez being in the title picture, it doesn't really matter, especially in the Lightweight division. Their champ is out for like the first half of this year, that division is still crazy deep, and there's like 3 or 4 title contenders already, with TJ Grant, Benson, Josh Thomson, plus the winner of Khabib / dos Anjos, and there's like 8 or 9 more behind them.

Not to mention a fellow called Jose Aldo.

[JasonM]

On the Dana White stuff, Be pretty much hit the nail right on it's head.

Despite him being somewhat of a genius in the way he put UFC into the position it is today, he's now hurting the company by being an arrogant douchenozzle who thinks he is the booking jesus of MMA. Trying to bully and goad fighters into signing deals or doing fights that make no sense by shitting on them in the media is not how you do business in any company; sports or otherwise.

He wants Overeem to fight JDS after the former went 1-2 in the past two years? Dos Santos whose only losses come from the current Heavyweight Champion. That's a lopsided fight if there ever was any, and the way Dana tries to bully Overeem into taking the fight by ''calling him out'' in the media, that's just a quick way to lose talent. And now it has come to a point that he does it after almost every single show just to gain more exposure to the company, bad exposure at that.

Right now I rather see UFC cut their losses and shove Dana into the background more and put someone else in front of the cameras who doesn't do stupid shit like that... A guy like Kenny Florian has been part of the UFC as a fighter and as a personality for a while now, and he is likeable enough to become the PR guy of the company. More examples can be thought of of course.

[Your Mom]

If UFC was scripted like WWE Dana White would be an awesome character. Sadly it's not so he is just a jerk

[JasonM]

If UFC was scripted like WWE Dana White would be an awesome character. Sadly it's not so he is just a jerk

He's basically that kid in class that tries to start a fight between you and some other kid in class by spreading bullshit lies back and forth...

[Your Mom]

If UFC was scripted like WWE Dana White would be an awesome character. Sadly it's not so he is just a jerk

He's basically that kid in class that tries to start a fight between you and some other kid in class by spreading bullshit lies back and forth...

Oh I hate people like that! I got my eye really damaged one time because some girl did that to me

[Walker]

I think they definitely are in a position to be as headstrong. It's pretty simple in MMA, except for a certain number of fighters, fighters definitely need the UFC more than the UFC needs them. They have most probably a 90-95 percent lock on the best fighters in the world. They are in no way thin, they have 400+ fighters.

As for Melendez being in the title picture, it doesn't really matter, especially in the Lightweight division. Their champ is out for like the first half of this year, that division is still crazy deep, and there's like 3 or 4 title contenders already, with TJ Grant, Benson, Josh Thomson, plus the winner of Khabib / dos Anjos, and there's like 8 or 9 more behind them.

Not to mention a fellow called Jose Aldo.

Most of which are not main card worthy yet. That is the issue. How deep a division is is irrelevant. Melendez can be thrown out on any main card, most co-main events, and most TV main events. They need as many of them as they can get.