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Esquire magazine has a unique profile of Dana White
By Zach Arnold | January 8, 2010
Esquire has a very long profile article on Dana White. Nothing really bad is said about White, but some of the quotes of the people he is surrounded by just make you shake your head. I cannot imagine any other sports commissioner/President who would allow themselves to be portrayed in this manner in such a public fashion.
“I fuckin’ lost ten pounds after I went in that porta-potty yesterday,” White says, recalling the portable facility he visited behind the big top after his talk with the fighters. “I seriously thought I was gonna puke.”
“You have to wonder,” says Raymond, the artsy-philosophical one in the bunch, “who takes a shit in a porta-potty?”
“I have no problem dumping in a porta-potty,” Moorzo says unequivocally in his thick Southie drawl.
“After that $1,200 room-service bill, do you doubt it?” White asks.
“I’ve gone home with dye stained on my underwear from backsplash,” Moorzo offers.
White makes a disgusted face.
“TMI, dude,” Raymond says.
“Depth charge!” Moorzo calls.
“Never mind lunch,” White groans, only half joking. “Let’s go straight to the venue.”
I did find it interesting that the article claims White’s net worth is $200 million USD, including his 10% ownership in UFC. Plus The Zuffa Myth is back and better than ever:
Lorenzo Fertitta had recently stepped down as the vice-chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Using Fertitta’s contacts and general know-how, the partners set about changing the rules of UFC fighting (e.g., time limits and rounds), cleaning it up, making it more palatable in statehouses around the nation.
The Esquire article certainly does add some… color… to how UFC management works and operates.
Not much time left for Matt Hughes as an active fighter
A profile article on him details all.
MMA Odds details the Top 10 MMA web sites
Lions Den notice on Bob Shamrock’s health
Not good: Bob Shamrock has only a few days to a few weeks left plz pray that he goes without much pain he will be missed by many. We love you Bob
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Squire is a Big Magazine around the world, one of the best for wure.
Zach, you can give an image of the cover to buy it here in Mexico.
Thanks for all the info amigo.
On one hand, its great that Dana gave him a big check. But there’s a reason why he was able to cut him a big check like that on next to no notice. And that in turn has to do with how much he was scheduled to get paid in the first place.
All of this is great and wonderful until you realize the side effects. Anderson Silva will fight Belfort finally….but it has to be in Abu Dhabi, where he’s getting a free training camp set up and accomodations (probably for more than just himself, trainer, and a second). Oh, and it’ll be on a card that instead of him having to carry himself, he gets Matt Hughes and BJ to fight on it too. Rampage Jackson wouldn’t do be doing movies if the base pay was significantly higher and bonuses to top guys trimmed. And then there’s Fedor….well, you get the idea.
You really think Rampage is getting paid more making movies then he is fighting?
The last guy who played Superman only got $1 Million. I don’t think there is as much pay as you think for secondary role characters.
Rampage doesn’t like to train. He likes the fame but doesn’t like the hard work. So acting as an easier way out of that. It has very little to do with the pay levels.
And I do find it funny…. Dana White pays money above and beyond the contracted amount, and people still have complaints about it. just unreal…
Alan is right in that 125k is rather cheap for a solid name as half of a main event that drew decently. To put it in perspective, guys like Couture and Liddell get millions more per fight.
But that’s the way the pay structure goes right now – in a title fight, money is back-weighted towards the belt-holder.
Once you’re the champ, you get a shiny, new contract. But while you’re still a challenger, you’re stuck with riding out your old contract.
The UFC would have a problem if it paid its challengers more in advance, only to see them lose to the champions. Perhaps they could pay a bonus to fighters specifically involved in title fights/main events. But why put extra money on the table when you don’t have to?
You really think Rampage is getting paid more making movies then he is fighting?
No.
It has very little to do with the pay levels.
It has everything to do with pay levels. If he was being paid more, he’d never have left to do movies. No athlete since free agency in a major stick and ball sport or racing ever has done that in their athletic prime, and for good reason. It was obviously him holding out.
MJ….. Air Jordan….. The greatest basketball player ever….. Also know as Michael Jordan…. Left in the prime of his career to ride a bus with a bunch of minor league baseball players.
Everybody has their reasons. Money was certainly not a deciding factor in Jordan’s decision.
If Rampage was making more in acting, then the pay level discussion would be an issue. But he is not. Just like Carano…. They would rather not put the hard work and effort in.
You always try and bash the fighters pay. In terms of how new the popularity of the sport is, it is very high. What happens if it then becomes a fad? Zuffa is stuck with the bill. They are building this thing up slowly, the right way. Making sure they have their foundation built properly before going out and giving more money to the fighters. Increased fighter pay is a natural profession.
But Rampage leaving MMA has to do with his own personal issues…. Not with the fact that high level athletes in this sport are being paid enough. What it comes down to is that somebody else is making mire then him. Doesn’t matter what the salary ranges are. He feels slighter. That is a comparison thing not a salary amount thing.
And if you had read any of his interviews on the sport lately, he clealr doesn’t even understand it himself. He is kind of ignorant really.
@45 – depending on who you believe MJ didn’t really “leave” so much as he was “asked to leave” due to some seriously unsavoury gambling issues that Stern wanted to quell…a sort of, kind of, suspension.
Interesting…http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/01/08/exclusive-ufc-sells-percentage-of-company-to-sheik-tahnoon-of-abu-dhabi/
I guess the money was right – can’t blame them with the way it seems that the UAE is throwing unheard of amounts of money at sports teams (and the like). This guy is a serious grappling aficionado and the founder of ADCC, so it makes sense that he’d have interest in the UFC.
Jordan had enough money to support generations of family members already in 1993 when he retired the first time. Plus the bulk of his money came from his numerous endorsement deals that he continued doing. So, yes, money wasn’t a factor…because he had a gazillion dollars already. MMA fighters aren’t that lucky yet, outside of Brock Lesnar.
The article proves the point that White and his minions are a bunch of jock-riding wannabes. Their sense of humor is fourth-grade schoolyard babblings (sorry to the fourth-graders); this does not look well upon the UFC and MMA as a whole, to have such an individual as its head.
Dana, I don’t mind a little raunchy humor or off-color language, everybody uses it; perhaps a lot of the fighters you deal with don’t understand much else, but it’s still not cool.
It’s just gonna be grist for all the anti-MMA geeks out there who claim this is not a sport, but a contest between Neanderthals.
What a joke; I’m not saying Dana has to put on a suit and tie and speak the Queen’s English, but think of who the readership is, and think of what image you are trying to present to the world.
Black Dog, I totaly agree with you, i have been saying this for a long time! The powers that be should represent the sport with a bit more class to draw, not turn of potential new ‘fans’, M.M.A is having a hard enough time trying to present its self as a serious legitimate sport, so, hey Dana, I know you must know words that contain more than four letters.
Whine, whine whine. Bitch, bitch bitch.