With Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) putting on a record number of shows every year, it's hard for Dana White to attend every single one of them like he was accustomed to doing just a few short years ago.
Not only does the promotion president take days off from time to time, but so too, does color commentator Joe Rogan and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. That was the case at this past weekend's (Sat., June 6, 2015) UFC Fight Night 68 event, which went down from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Something that didn't sit too well with heavyweight contender Ben Rothwell, telling The MMA Hour that he felt "gypped" after realizing that the UFC's head honchos weren't present to witness him take out Matt Mitrione in impressive fashion (see it).
From MMA Fighting:
"I felt gypped. Dana White wasn't there, Joe Silva wasn't there, I felt gypped. Joe Rogan wasn't there. These fights were a big deal, and the three stars of the UFC weren't even there. I kind of felt gypped."
Don't worry Rothwell, you're not the only one.
According to "Big Ben," getting in touch with White is harder than it seems, as he revealed that even some of the promotion president's closest colleagues can't get a hold of him. Probably because he's too busy being a bigger star than his fighters.
So, what does Rothwell want to talk about if he does somehow manage to track down his boss? For starters, he'd like to know why he wasn't invited to be a part of the UFC 189 fight week activities, particularly the UFC Fan Expo, which goes down from July 10-11.
"I just wanna talk to him. I talked to Joe Silva, and Joe Silva said it's even hard for him to talk to Dana White. Dana White is a bigger star than all of us, I don't think he has time for us. I don't think he even watches UFC. It's funny. I want to talk to Dana White because I want to be at the UFC Fan Expo. I'm looking at the list and seeing these people and I don't even know who they are. You've got the champions coming, you've got the veterans, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell, awesome. Then there's a group of people who are signing and I don't even know who they are. Really? I want to be there for the fans. They're trying to get autographs. Social media's awesome. But being able to shake hands and sign autographs feels a lot more to me. I'd like to get some of those opportunities. UFC Fan Expo is a great place to be, but UFC kind of doesn't give a shit about me."
Nothing wrong with wanting to get closer to fans.
After his memorable post-fight victory speech (see it), Rothwell adamantly declared that it's high time he makes some noise (like this) in order to get people to pay attention.
UPDATE: Rothwell insist his comments were blown out of proportion:
'' @mmamania @danawhite ok let's clear this up, @ufc is very cool to me and treats me well, this was blown out of context
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) June 10, 2015
Watch his MMA Hour appearance below for more: