UFC Quick Quote: Dana White respects Strikeforce; Gina Carano

by Jesse Holland on Oct 29, 2008 9:42 PM EDT Comment 42 comments

"I hope they do 10 million viewers next week. Have you heard me say a bad word about Strikeforce? I wish them all the luck in the world. I have nothing bad to say about guys who are running the right promotion ... Gina Carano's a talented fighter, she's a star. She should've been the main event (on CBS' last EliteXC broadcast). My thing with women and fighting is there isn't enough good women to create a whole division. Could I do some one-off fights here and there? Yeah, but that's not really what we do."

-UFC President Dana White as quoted in USA Today about what place Strikeforce and Gina Carano have in today's world of mixed martial arts. Perhaps Mr. White isn't the meglomaniacal dictator some people make him out to be. You decide.

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“I have nothing bad to say about guys who are running the right promotion…”

UNLESS THEY MAKE T SHIRTS

THEN THEY DIEEEEE

by DirtyML on Oct 29, 2008 9:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

jajaja yeah man… lets face it… strikeforce is doing the right thing in mma, competing and being competitors step by step, the thing with other promotions is that they want all the money and the success with only… 3 or 4 events??? come on thats stupid…

by Ryosuke on Oct 29, 2008 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sing it to me dana

by the heat on Oct 29, 2008 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

in other words:
“yah, i bang her. i just wouldnt pay big money for it”

by bradpittfightclub on Oct 29, 2008 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol, she’s not that hot, but lets not get into this again.
This definitely goes with what I’ve been saying for months about Dana taking cung le on loan from strikeforce for a night against anderson silva.
I think this will happen in the summer of 2009, not just opinion, but what I’m hearing as well. who you got?
I got silva!

by kevin (some guys hate me...and I don't care) on Oct 30, 2008 2:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

douchechill

by EazyEismydad on Oct 30, 2008 6:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

kev~ i have been hearing the same about andy-vs-cung.

but i am not hearing summer 09.

i am hearing 1st quarter of 09. like feb~march.

i am also hearing andy-vs-jardine for dec or jan 08.

and alves-vs-sanchez for dec.

hmmmm? i sthink thats it?

well thats it for big fights that i know of.

by ricky~dooby on Oct 30, 2008 8:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well.. Affliction wont promote the UFC either

by tex mex on Oct 30, 2008 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he’s only complimenting them because they aren’t seen as competitors. most of the guys fighting on it would be WEC level or less

by aa on Oct 29, 2008 9:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

And because they’ve never said anything bad about him. He also needs them to harvest talent.

by NameNotRequired on Oct 29, 2008 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

josh thomson? gilbert melendez? babalu sobral?

by sinister on Oct 29, 2008 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

solid competition for sure but they are few and far between…

by brendan on Oct 29, 2008 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Caol Uno

by EazyEismydad on Oct 30, 2008 6:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and Cung Le, Ishida, Misaki etc etc

by Bill Maher on Oct 29, 2008 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ishida signed with strikeforce?

by brendan on Oct 29, 2008 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yah i belive he fought some random guy at the last one Sherd*g streamed online. quick, painful armbar submission in the first.

by sinister on Oct 30, 2008 12:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They’ve got good talent and a deal with NBC. Look for them to have a major live fight card on NBC in the next 6 – 8 months.

Dana said this KNOWING all the above, not to mention that they do have talent (see sinister’s comment).

Dana hates people with boxing ties (Affliction/Goldenboy & Elite XC/ Gary Shaw)

Also Strikeforce has ran their company very well and are the only other players in U.S. who are making a splash AND a profit.

by jtc2112 on Oct 29, 2008 10:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

As long as they will never be a threat to the UFC, Dana is happy.

by Gord on Oct 29, 2008 10:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Pretty much…Scott Coker does a good job though.

by Kelvin on Oct 29, 2008 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Huh? EliteXC was less of a threat than Strikeforce. Dana White just hates it when people who didn’t support MMA from Day 1 come in and try to make a quick buck (ahem the Shaws).

by Pat on Oct 30, 2008 1:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good point, Pat. Plus, Strikeforce has it’s own little niche in the world of MMA that has found success through smaller shows that don’t pose much of a threat to Dana. They’ve said before they are perfectly content staying in their own little niche.

by RedDog on Oct 30, 2008 3:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Erm, no. Still meglomaniacal dictator.

by Brandon on Oct 29, 2008 10:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

damn, dana’s the man!
he knows for sure he wants to bring gina carano over to the UFC cause EVERYONE KNOWS gina would bring at least two-thirds of strikeforce fans over with her. no doubt, it’ll be CRAZY!!!
he says there’s not enough female fighters in order for him to make a division?? well, here’s ONE solution….

before the MAIN EVENT of each UFC ppv, have gina carano and rachelle leah go at it in a wet’n wild matchup to see who could take of their opponents bikini off first. hmm.. just a thought!

by boardRIDER on Oct 29, 2008 11:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow…..such a martyr.

MMA Mania…“Dana White ends the cold war!!!!!”

UFC Mania

by introvert on Oct 29, 2008 11:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Then if you dont want Gina and the girls in the UFC, then bring them to the WEC! ..They need more marketable stars there since he took away the MW and LHW divisions. They cant just rely on Faber and Torres for each and every card.

by weoweoweo on Oct 29, 2008 11:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

they do have Condit, whos a pretty decent draw as far as the WEC goes. And Jens and L.Garcia help a bit as well. Their LW division is all that doesn’t have a well-known or stand out fighter. I thought it was Razor Rob, but since Jamie Varner knocked him out, I guess he isn’t a top lightweight. I like the guy, he a good fighter and a cool nickname, but I thought Rob was better than what his last few fights have shown. sorry to get off topic

by sinister on Oct 30, 2008 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yup i get your point. but signing the female fighters would certainly generate more viewers/ppv buys. gina vs cyborg plus torres and or faber would surely be a good card.

by weoweoweo on Oct 30, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think we’ve seen time and time again: Love him, or hate him, Dana White knows what the hell he’s talking about.

by OutlawTruth on Oct 30, 2008 12:10 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dana better be respectful, to keep his “class” intact.

by Syd[a.k.a "The Negation"] on Oct 30, 2008 2:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Meesa glad that Dana White doesn’t hate Strikeforce. Meesa like Strikeforce too.

by Jar Jar Binks on Oct 30, 2008 3:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Scott Coker is good peeps. Dana and Scott have a long relationship together. If ever the UFC was to hold a shared event, it would be with Scott. Every fighter that fights for SF has always said how professional it is. If you post on the UG, you know all this though.

by YouTaped on Oct 30, 2008 6:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You guys are missing the point. His beef isn’t with competition, its with people who act unprofessionally or are bad representatives of the sport. Elite XC, though it had some awesome fighters, was a sideshow. It turned new fans away by making them think it was a joke sport with fixed fights. Affliction started a rival organization and poached UFC fighters while being a sponsor. That is very unethical.
If Strikeforce does well and gets tons of national exposure it only helps the UFC. The sport needs more fans so that the UFC and other organizations don’t have to pay fighters so little and deal with all the bad PR that goes with that. Even if Strikeforce gets as big as the UFC and gets an NBC deal, then the UFC can do megashow cross promotion events.
The UFC benefits from healthy competition and Dana White knows that.

by EazyEismydad on Oct 30, 2008 6:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me god amen lol

by ukmma on Oct 30, 2008 7:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I will be laughing when Affliction goes under and loses its ability to ever advertise in the UFC again. These people know they can’t keep running like they did in their first show. It is a matter of time before they shoot themselves in the foot.

by Djs3467 on Oct 30, 2008 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

omment by kevin (some guys hate me…and I don’t care)
2008-10-30 01:16:36

OMG kevin u are so retarded yes sum guys do hate u ,u beansproat polesmoker,asif cungle gona be loaned fight silva,AND R U GAY gina carano s hot manpole smoker,u must b a wang lover DIE,RAAAAA I AM THE ULTIMATE KEYBOARD WARRIOR PLZ dont moderate my comment i think everyone is thinking the same about kevin and his theories about gina carano

by KeyboardWarrioR on Oct 30, 2008 8:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hmm, can’t agree with Kevin about Gina either, but damn lose all the insults, the guy doesn’t think she’s hot, so what? A lot of people probably don’t think his wife is host either, it’s all in the eyes of the beholder.

by O damn he got caught on Oct 30, 2008 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hot*

by O damn he got caught on Oct 30, 2008 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, it is ALL in the eyes of the beholder. And I doubt kevin will lose sleep by being insulted by an illiterate. lol

by chefdaddy on Oct 30, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

everyone that thinks it, writes it, just a little more coherently! i posted a video of cung le talking about this where I live ( 10 min from san jose) and I’ve heard it mentioned again. Stipulation is strikeforce’s name on octogon and ufc pays le. you my friend are the dumb one, gina looks good on day of fight, after she’s dropped 30-40 pounds, and I’ve read reports that it was as much as 60 once. her voice and “surfer” attitude annoys me too, plus I’m not into white chicks. It’s all in the eye of the beholder though!

by kevin (some guys hate me...and I don't care) on Oct 30, 2008 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

cyborg is going to end all the gina carano hype

by daniel on Oct 30, 2008 1:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

When? Did some promotion pick up this fight?

by Jeff on Oct 30, 2008 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dana is a good businessman. The potential of MMA still has not been reached yet. It is to his and MMA’s benefit to grow the fan and talent base as much as possible to reach critial mass. UFC cannot do this alone. It is better to have 50% of a 2 billion $ pie than 100% of a $300 million pie that stops growing.

i would like to see carano get at least one more high quality fight in her before facing cyborg; she can’t go from not fighting for so long/ american gladiators to facing someone like cyborg. This point is moot anyway due to cyborg’s injury. we r probably looking at a beginning of 2010 match between these two; which in not bab imo.

by dantheman on Feb 17, 2009 7:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs