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Five things I learned from the UFC 75 conference call
By Zach Arnold | August 30, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Luke Thomas wrote-up an excellent summary of the UFC 75 conference call. My first thoughts after reading the summary:
- Renato Babalu was fired from UFC for holding a choke hold on David Heath for around 3-4 seconds after the referee asked him to let go. Babalu’s firing sounds more designed for Public Relations than it does for business matters. White sounded like he wanted Babalu to be a babyface rather than a heel, even though being a heel would have drawn better business.
- You can get fired in UFC if you display a lapse in judgment or bad behavior, but if you get busted for steroids or are Dana White’s best friend in the whole world you likely won’t or may not get fired.
- Despite White calling PRIDE “a tainted brand,” he sure didn’t mind using the PRIDE name to hype up the Jackson vs. Henderson fight, did he? Ironically, White then basically declared that after the fight the PRIDE 205-pound belt would be eliminated. White can’t get his story straight on what the PRIDE brand is — “tainted” or “such a big brand.” Once again, another business topic that White can’t figure out a position on (mainly because of his stupidity). I had to laugh at this line about doing business in Japan: “We’re lucky to rent office space.”
- Rampage Jackson and his camp have declared a public relations war on PRIDE fighters who they thought were on the secret sauce. Stating that Wanderlei Silva couldn’t “juice” like he wanted is going to stir up the hardcores, but in his mind I’m sure he’s telling the truth. The irony was thick, as Dana keeps flip-flopping back and forth about whether the PRIDE brand is “tainted” or “a big brand” while Jackson basically tainted it on his own accord by saying the guys he fought in the PRIDE ring were steroid users.
- We aren’t going to see Josh Barnett ever in UFC. Dana White — “Nobody gives a shit about Josh Barnett, especially me.”
Topics: MMA, Media, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 53 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
I think Todd has summed it up pretty damn well.
I’ve been reading Zach and FO for what, since he started I guess. I remember when he had zero comments other than mine and a few others. I ave never gotten the opinion that he hated the UFC or Pride or anything really. He does a great job at covering stories many other sites dont. He puts in the work to bring us obscure shit. I love that, that’s why I check this site everyday. I dont always agree with him, but hey, that’s what makes life fun.
On side note, um since when can a choke held for 15 secs cause brain damage? If that were the case, I doubt I would still be able to type and all my friends would be vegetables. Babalu is getting a seriously raw deal.
You can defend a choke for 15 seconds, but a full-on rear naked, for example, held on for 15 seconds can stop blood flow to parts of the brain that need it nonstop. It’s not rocket science, even if Babalu is getting a raw deal.