DAMN!!! this is serious stuff!! I dont really no who to blame for this! fitch could of just signed the paper and thats that but noooo..

o…m….g…. wat is dana doin, i’ve always tried to be a ufc and dana nutthuger but wow. wat is happening…i got a really really bad feeling about this…its kinda erie

o…m….g…. wat is dana doin, i’ve always tried to be a ufc and dana nutthuger but wow. wat is happening…i got a really really bad feeling about this…its kinda erie

Dana White sounds like he is on roids man. This are some jacked up comments really. Can you say ROID RAGE!!!

I wonder what DW does that we will never know…

This statement makes DW look like an unreasonable a-hole of a boss.

I wish one of the champs refuses to sign! That would call much more attention to DW’s arrogance and possibly cause a small rebellion.

fxck dana. unbelievable, he wants lifetime ownership, but is constantly looking to cut someones pay. he talks about how anyone can lose on any given day, yet will terminate contracts when someone loses or refuses to take a pay cut. the fertitas need to get some fxckin balls and check dana for these kind of outbursts. Especially, after finally getting alot of mainstream coverage. Any other president/commissioner would have to publicly apologize for such statements and/or step down.

[expletives] dana. unbelievable, he wants lifetime ownership, but is constantly looking to cut someones pay. he talks about how anyone can lose on any given day, yet will terminate contracts when someone loses or refuses to take a pay cut. the fertitas need to get some fxckin balls and check dana for these kind of outbursts. Especially, after finally getting alot of mainstream coverage. Any other president/commissioner would have to publicly apologize for such statements and/or step down.

So now maybe some of what Randy was talking about was right. I don’t blame Fitch at all for not signing. I’m sure it’s all about the money, but hell lifetime and all rights, that’s BS.

WOW….. don’t know what to make of all of this… What happens behind closed doors we eill never know, but wow!

dana white has just become a lowlife.

Dana wants all the money. what a c**t

a lifetime is a long time for videogame rights. like 10 yrs wasnt good enough? the ufc will still go on without the aka fighters and make millions so who really lost out on this. i wonder if chase will be upset if koscheck gets cut

the fact that you even are saying jon made a bad move b/c w/o the ufc he has nothing is EXACTLY THE PROBLEM W/ THE UFC BEING THE ONLY BIG FIGHT GAME around. Because the UFC has such a powerful position in terms of showcasing fighters, and the fact that there aren’t too many other organizations for fighters to go to is why there needs to be other organizations.

No matter what you say about how bad EXC was in terms of their management or the fall of IFL & potential fall of Affliction and AFL, this bodes horribly for the fighters, who we as fans should be concerned about, as well as, our own abilities to watch FREE mma. Without these other organzations, we are severely limited in terms of what we will see and who we will see, and the fighters face the same problems. It is interesting that ALL of the other major sports organzations do not require their athletes to sign such crap and again why the UFC for as good as they are, are as bad as they are.

More fighters need to follow Fitch so that if all the fighters said "f" u to the UFC re: ancillary rights, then they would have to change their position. Right now, being one of the only big boys in the game allows them to bully everyone and anyone and that is not good for Fitch, for other fighters, for the fans or for the sport in general. Let ESPN take this on MMA live and give this issue the press they gave to Couture v. Lesnar and see what the public suddenly thinks about the UFC’s tactics and treatment of it’s fighters

maybe have a ceo who doesn’t sound like highschool dropout strung out on crack would help the situation. Do you know how unprofessional his statement is? Could you see a high ranking official of any other company issue a statement that like?

This is great and keeps getting better by the minute

A gree wth you tuffguy who the hell wants to sign thier likeness rights away for a lifetime

Tom Atencio get to work and put together some great fights one organizations loss is another organizations gain

SWEET

Dana being a fucking bully again. Fucken prick.

Dude bro!! as my Armenian brothers say. WTF!! Dana I know you have a point but your in control man! Don’t flip your lid man, don’t be a McMahon! Jon will be back, he is a good fighter and he was probably calling your bluff. Pride first, UFC forever!! Please represent us propor Dana!!

So he wants them to be his partners yet he will cut them on a whim if they disappoint him in some way. That’s not a partnershit Dana ; that’s strongarming people to submit to your dictatorship. it’s 2 am and i don’t care about any of the spelling mistakes I made.

dana youve accomplished great things promoting MMA that no one can discredit…………………but your not the be all and end all of MMA buddy

MMA was here before you and it will be here after you you ‘[EXPLETIVE]’ greedy bastard

The guy is friggin’ nuts and he can’t even see it. I almost feel bad for the guy.

Signing a name and likeness over for life seems like a lot to ask for dana. one video game contract at a time dude. i figured that all the contracts for the video game were signed already anyway. sounds like you jumped the gun a bit. but even if jon didnt sign, it would have been better to not say anything. no one would have noticed. now we’re all gonna look at who’s not in the video and make assumptions. very unprofessional dana.

would david stern ever come out and say “f%#@ Michael Jordan for not putting his name in a video game”? i think not…

i agree with DW, [expletive] John Fitch! Doesn’t seem he’s very loyal to the UFC and doesn’t appreciate what they do for him.

dana just made himself look like a douchebag!! if he didnt curse so much and was a little more nicer to tha fighters i would have alot more respect for him……anyways fitch vs white in the main event of UFC 94

i will call it right now R Huerta will be another fighter leaving the UFC soon

This is a wierd situation, worrying in all honesty. Now that Dana has taken this stance I just hope some of the top fighters dont take the same view as fitch!

Something has to give somewhere, I agree with both parties in certain areas, surely an ammicable resolution can be made??

think of other games with loads of top sports personel, im quite sure that they all dont get big cuts of the profits, however im also sure they dont sign a lifetime agreement also!!

this has to be resolved man, its not good for publicity and its not good for the fans or fighters or anybody!!

The fighters need STRIKE and get this all settled. If another promotion can’t keep the UFC honest then it’s up to the fighters.

im not gunna point any fingerrs till i know whats really goin on. this is a childish response on danas part. i feel like theres something goin on w. their management. b.c none of the other fighters complained about it. i dunno i dont think this is all dana.

i really dont see why this whole lifetime likeness is such a big deal. i would not mind that at all maybe its just me

Dana’s “with me or against me” attitude is troubling. The man is becoming paranoid. And after he reveals something particularly insane from that mind of his, he follows it up with, “I’m actually a nice person.” Right. You know we’re in for trouble when he actually needs to remind us that he’s not a “dick head”.

Fitch’s comments below:

"Working for free and selling our rights away for lifetime, that’s a little different," said Fitch, who said he hasn’t spoken with White but plans to call him. "We tried to negotiate five- or 10-year deals with them, but it wasn’t good enough. It was all or nothing. He wanted our lifetime. He wanted our souls forever."

Business is business. It’s like getting pulled over for a DWI/DUI, if you deny a sobriety test, you’re presumed guilty. If you take it, you could be effed. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Whatever, the guy has had 2 exciting fights(Alves and GSP). He had his butt kicked in both, and happened to win one.

Can you say “NAZI”? Damn, I love the
UFC but this ridiculous, talk about bully on the block.

Even if they do work it out. The fact that your boss said ‘fxck you’, when you’ve been nothing but respectful. These fighters know their walking a tight rope. They pretty much have to kiss dana’s ass just to be appreciated. Being disrespected like that is unforgivable. Dana created the whole vblogs just to appear like a decent human being. Sure it hypes the fights, but thats not the main purpose.

I an curious what Brock Lesner has agreed to. With his experience with other large organizations and superstardom he must have experience with agreements. I wonder what licencing agreements WWE has in place and how they compare to UFC. I have a hard time seeing Lesner signing anything that would be drastically worse than the WWE. I raise this because of the Dana’s comment about Cain Velesquez trying to change agreements with only two fights. I don’t see the UFC trying to bully an already established millionaire like Lesner and still expecting a working relationship. They want him more than Velesquez because he brings in more viewers and Lesner would know this and thus be in a stronger negotiating position than most fighters. Thoughts…

Fitch and Kos are pretty much screwed if they don’t re-sign with the UFC. They will be forced to fight cans in another org. The only good thing that can come out of this for fans is if Fitch and Kos go to Affliction and fight each other. THAT, I’d want to see.

Maybe they’ll throw a few boxing matches in there.

Well – interesting. I would have loved to see Alves v Fitch. That would have been an awesome fight. End of the day Business is Business.

yes its a lifetime. But if youre not with the UFC who would make a game for you? affliction? Or do you plan to make a game with your image besides UFC games? CHuck Liddell Anderson Silva and Forrest Have signed these papers and i dont get why a guy like Christian Wellisch feels that its unfair for him to have the ufc have his video game rights.

Its not like atari will make an MMA game out of non-UFC b-level fighters right?

I know dana is a d!ck, but Think about your career. You will probably lose most of your sponsors and you’ll lose the chance to make it big in the UFC, just because you think other people should also make video games with you in it?

It’s Fitch’s choice if he doesn’t want to sign-knowing how little the fighters get for stuff like this, he was probably being paid F**k all. This is the hard-ball, throw your toys out of the pram, push the other kids over, my way or the highway side of Dana White that I hate.
Saying it’s ok cos its business, isn’t fair enough. You can be a businessman and a total tool. I’m guna miss Fitch’s fights in the UFC.

even though this is all businnes dana is doin this wrong. the bottom line he is too selfish. the fighters deserve better and he’s just a f***en a-hole

Dana u can’t hustle the fighters forever you egomaniac! he needs to put his money where his mouth is.. every UFC fighter needs to go Tito’s way.. I’m tired of hearing that wannabe celebrity gangster talking about how great they are and this and that please stop kissing ppls asses while you’re saying the f word in every sentence… their is 2 reasons that this fight last weekend got all the hype from media Couture and Lesnar, and Dana n the UFC are cashing in huge money while they pay the fighters like sh*t to grow their own business.. the UFC fighters will never take over the world because Dana’s face is taking their place in the spotlight all the time! I don’t care how good fights the UFC puts on or if the company dies, this needs to end now just leave the company Dana you’re gonna selfdestruct!

I love the UFC and have always supported Dana White. But Dana’s an arrogant prick. Dana has never fought, so he really doesn’t know what it’s like to sign your life away. I wish Randy would retire and start his own promotion, I hated Elite XC, but Afflication stands to gain some excellent fighters from this clusterfuck. Go Afflication. A strong Affliction equals a stronger UFC (for the fighters and fans.)

“I’m not a douche bag”… I beg to differ.

Dumb move by Fitch this guy is gonna wake up in a couple of weeks or months and just like Randy realise that the f’ed up big time. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you, considering the fact that he’s not a draw and with the UFC in this economy he’s doing no favors for his family. Fitch could have been a big star thanks to the UFC, but after taking some horrible management advice he’s gonna be the WW Matt Lindland and that’s not a good thing.

oh,c’mon fitch, how this issue become a big deal for you? for my opinion i’ll be honor if i’ll be on the video game, its a fun feeling, look at Tmac,shaq they’re having fun playying their self on the NBA games,

maybe he doesnt like videogames or doesnt want exposure lols!

Wow MANIA, I saw the this story on the bottom of Sportscenter tonight, and it said “according to mmamania.com” Congrats on that, even though this is an unfortunate story.

who cares about jon fitch, he had a choice to sign or be cut, and he chose to be cut…his loss…See how long affliction lasts and why wouldnt u want as much exposure as possible to be in a video game…Netherlands is never in soccer games in the same comparison

I will have a hard time paying for another UFC ppv. After reading Fitch’s interview I am thinking that 91 might be the last 45 bucks they will get from me. I’m sure more details will come out.

I think Dana White needs a good break…

I agreed with most here, Dana is coming off as a jerk in this one.It would be a shame if the number 2 WW left.

its business.

Dana White on this article:
“Suck my [expletive]! The day a [expletive] website knows more about UFC business deals I have made than I do will… just [expletive] these [expletive]. If they’re headlining their [expletive] in a way that even comes close to claiming I [expletive] said ‘[expletive] Fitch for not signing a video game agreement’ then they’re [expletive] scumbag [expletive]!”

a well-regarded mma journalist tearing about this “article”: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/?go=forum_framed.posts&forum=1&thread=1375292&page=1&pc=53

Dana wants these managers and agents out of the way so he can strong arm these guys. I thought things were going to be smoother with Lorenzo around. Hey Lorenzo, where the (expletive) are ya??

Dana is a [Expletive] slavemaster. He needs to be in [Expletive] jail.
[Expletive] fascist dictator. I [Expletive] hope he gets brutally beaten by one of the fighters (aka his slaves) so bad that he gets paralyzed from the neck down.

Dana needs to stop giving these guys so much money as a bonus.

He also needs to let people like longsilver run the ufc.

oh well

Let it become a dictatorship, I want to see the best fighters up against each other, not loads of different companies refusing to let their guys fight in other organisations.

Dana is trying to stamp out the competition; I’d be worried if he didn’t!!!

When there is $millions at stake and you are trying to get a video game deal done, you’re not going to be impressed when one of the fighters that you have paid a tonne of money to, sticks a spanner in the works. I’d be p1ssed!

Dana may feel justified in his actions but he fails to see the larger picture. This is the sort of thing that can lead to a Fighters Union.

Look at the auto industry as an example. The Big Three are completely unionized and are paying out the nose for wages and benefits. Whereas the foreign automakers that have plants in the US pay and treat their workers well enough that not one of those plants is unionized.

There are two roads to take, action determines the path.

Dana White needs a vacation.

Dana White is turning into Al Davis.

honestly whats the big deal….its a life time agreement to have yourself depicted in a video game while in the prime of your life…what do they think can possibly happen…are they doing this for the principle? What is the drawback here? Anyone??

If Fitch, Kos and Cain go to Affliction hello Pride 2. Cain would be one fight away from Fedor. Dumb to let so much go out the door. Those 3 would give Affliction life support for another year.

ok so i think it’s become pretty apparent that the UFC is getting too big for their own good. we hear more and more about how fighters are getting screwed over. the fighters are what makes the ufc what it is, they should be number one of the list. you’re telling me that jon fitch signing his likeness away forever to the ufc for their video game is him being a douche? what does the ufc’s video game have to do with fitch fighting inside the octagon? i’m sure this video game would be of absolutely no benefit to jon, just to dana’s pockets in this tough economy. i hope affliction can keep their act together because the ufc really needs a competitor, when they are a monopoly fighters get screwed over. go ahead jon, go over to affliction. then when gsp goes over too, since he has good ties with the company already through sponsorship and will be able to make more money their than in the ufc, we can have fitch-gsp II. damn it’s sad to see the ufc, the organization that has always been fighters first, going down this road…

Bye bye fitch. He’s such boring fighter.

I wonder how other sports handle their players and likeness with their vids

Gotta side with Fitch from a business standpoint. Imagine if for some reason the UFC falls on hard times or that the UFC folds. THEY OWN YOUR IMAGE INPERPETUITY. FOREVER. So Fitch goes to another organization they have a game coming out and the UFC decides no, they don’t want to release you from your contract or worse yet they sell the contract and make the money instead of you. Now the idea of the UFC going under sounds nuts but look at many banks right now.

Also the idea of a video game not getting much exposure….That too is a billion dollar industry. The NFL, NBA, PBA, PGA all make a lot of money off of video game rights. That is absurd.

MHO.

hopefully more fighters I like will refuse to sign :-D evil laugh

Quote from fitch:

“Honestly the contract wasn’t even that big of a deal,” he said. "We’re not getting paid for it anyways, and it’s not a deal where I’m actually going to get another deal with a video game agency. I don’t have that kind of pull, most guys don’t. It has nothing to do with that. It’s that they brought this contract to us and basically kicked in our front door, came in guns blazing, and said ‘sign this contract or you’re dead.’

Here at Globo UFC Corp, we’re better than you! and we know it!

Dana dropped the ball here as the games is set to release and they don’t have permission to use fighters likeness…its bad business and Dana deserves everything he’s got coming…on the other hand…its a fu&kin video game…the fighters should get over it…its not like video game manufacturers are lining up at Fitch’s door

FYI

The video game industry in 2007 out sold DVD and CD sales by more than double

Man, I know a lot of people like to give Dana credit for bringing the UFC to where it is today but… The Fertittas really need to get rid of him. The guy is way too much of an egomaniac hot head. Dana White just runs his mouth all day talking shit about whoever he wants and it isnt even the slightest bit professional.

Good link fron Chris W, this is shocking! Well worth a quick read.

http://www.tapoutlive.com/images/mags/ufc_legal.pdf

Fitch vs Hieron at an upcoming Affliction or Japanese show? Fitch vs Sakurai would be cool in DREAM.

Wow…big surprise.

Dana – “sign your name and likeness away for the rest of your life or else you will be (expletive, expletive, expletive)”

What a douche this guy is.

I hope more fighters tell him to shove it. I like AKA more today than I did yesterday……at least they are manning up……unlike Chuck and Forrest, who suck Dana’s balls for a dime.

GSP will be next…..mark my words.

lifetime contract, as if Fitch will be in a video game 10 years from now anyways, so who cares, just sign and move on

Don’t some of you people get tired of the taste of Dana White’s NUTS!

the classiness dana white always displays never ceases to amaze me. LMAO!

dana white is classless. hey, the more fighters he lets go, the more other organizations (affliction or strikeforce for example) can beef up their rosters. who wouldn’t pick up Kos like immediately? that goes for fitch as well.

“Just a video game”!!!
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/VideoGameSalesOvertakingMusic.aspx

Dana’s no fool all he sees is MONEYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

geez, there’s a lot of people who fell hook line and sinker for the dana white hype train and truly believe that the UFC will forever be the dominant MMA promotion.

this isn’t about whether or not jon fitch will be relevant in the UFC in 5 years or even 10 years. it’s about the fact that if he ever switches promotions, will he gain back the use of his likeness for use somewhere else?

Fu** the UFC i wouldn’t care if their name was FAG or whatever i don’t care, all i care about is seeing the fights and the fighters that i like.. this dude Dana is a tool, and i really hope he gets fired and all of these idiots go away.. the fighters needs to make a statement by not showing up at fight night!

I faithful watch every UFC fight on tv. I pay $45 buck to watch these guys and to see what Dana has done is heart breaking. I will no longer pay a dime to these jack asses

Guys this is a business, remember if it was not for Dana White most of these guys would have to have full time jobs and train and fight on the side, he has made it so guys can call MMA a career, if the UFC where to produce a video game and did not have a contract to use the name and likeleness of the fighters 10 years down the road the fighers can sue the UFC and the maker of the video game, the guys un the UFC are free to have sponsers from anyone they want, they can use there likeleness and name anywhere they want…..if 100 guys fight in the UFC and 5 are aganist this whole contract thing does it not make you wonder why the other 95 have no problem with it?

wow

this is major
there are alot of guys from aka in the ufc
this would shake things up i hope they just wise up and sign the damm agreement i think swick is being smart but these guys play band of brothers and they will all fall
i would hate to see them all leave the ufc

I know that all the Dana haters can,t stand this, but the harsh reality of this is that if not for the UFC probably 80 to 90% of these guys would be selling snicker bars or pushing a broom if not for Dana and the UFC.
If the UFC sells a million dollers worth of this stuff 10% is a hell of lot more money than what most of these fighters could or will make in other lines of work.

Perhaps this is the eye opener needed to start looking at a fighters union…

It doesn’t matter if they are making a living in the UFC now. There’s no guarantee Dana won’t drop them in the future just because it’s his time of the month.
They shouldn’t even ASK the fighters to sign something for a lifetime. I like the UFC and watching the fights, but as human beings… Dana and the Zuffas are a waste. The greed is sickening.

Man dumb move on the ufc, koscheck and fitch are top 5 welterweights in MMA, it would make the division weaker, why would he want that? dumb.

let me get a few things out of the way. i havent been keeping up with MMA for long just a couple years but i am a fast learner. whoever this kevin guy is, leaving long comments, is a fuckin faggot and a moron and lacks fundamental compare and contrast skills that most people learned in first grade. the only thing even remotely similiar about the UFC and the NFL is that there is and F in the middle. the NFL is americas favorite pastime up there with baseball and NASCAR. the UFC is relatively new and these fighters arent making nearly as much as athletes in the NFL. if you ask a football player to sign a lifetime agreement, well fuck it theyre already set for life. and to say that john fitch wouldnt be fighting if it werent for the ufc is damn ignorant because what is the UFC without fighters retard. there are a few other fighting championships like pride that are happy to sign fighters like fitch obviously and nobody really just starts in the UFC they have to work theyre way up and to say that the UFC, cutting fighters for a video game right to there name for life, or any other arbitrary decision a good fighter makes, is as good as it gets as an MMA fighter is a joke and your a joke if you agree with that. its a joke that you can lose your dream job over a fucking video game yeah why not sign( other than lifetime rights to your name) but at the same time what if you just dont want to be in a video game. should you be fired for that. and to say that the UFC doesnt owe these fighters anything infuriates me because they do owe them. every time they step into the octagon they owe them. and i mean other than one big check. did you see rich franklins nose after his fight with anderson silva. how bout when frank mir broke tim silvias arm? let me break your arm or fuck your face up and see if you dont think i owe you. this sport is unlike any other and i say the more fighters the better. you also say and i qoute “_______ any fighter on UFC roster would be where without the UFC.” dee dee dee i dont no… theyre on the UFC roster so i guess anywhere else where they can fight. im going to bed now but kevin if i EVER meet you i will kick your ass just for the dumb shit you said. bitch…sorry but someone had to