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Dana White uses 9/11 analogy for Anonymous UFC site hack, says they’ll get “Bin Laden’d”

By Zach Arnold | January 27, 2012

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In an explosive 13-minute interview with Mauro Ranallo and The Score, UFC President Dana White doubled-down his attacks on the group Anonymous. The way in which Dana calls out Anonymous is breathtaking in its stupidity. As UFC found out last night, challenging Anonymous is a bad, bad idea.

(It should be noted, for the record, that the initial hackers last weekend claimed they weren’t affiliated with Anonymous but sympathized with them.)

The interview starts off with a preview of Saturday’s UFC on Fox fight card. Mauro then transitions into asking why the upcoming Montreal event, scheduled for March, got postponed. Dana started to get riled up here, wondering how that information was pushed hard as a public story. After he explained why the show got postponed, the topic moved onto the future of Strikeforce. Dana says he has a battle plan to make Strikeforce high quality (as good as WEC was)… if he can sit down with the powers-that-be at Showtime and get what he wants done.

Mauro then asked him about the UFC web site getting hacked last weekend. For about three minutes, White goes into combat mode saying that he’s not afraid of the Internet unlike the MMA media because the media lives and breathes the Internet but he doesn’t. Dana strongly claims that no customer information was put at risk in the hacks, only that the URL got manipulated. He starts to amp up the testosterone quotient as he gets worked up about not ‘messing with the Government.’

Bizarrely, Dana feels the need to say: “Has the government (FTC) ever come out and said that we’re investigating the UFC?” and “Have you ever seen a press release come out?” He then concludes, “No. Exactly. You don’t mess with the Government.”

MMA Fighting: Dana White thinks revealing fighters’ actual salaries would be harmful… for the fighters

He manages to lump in the fact/fiction about an FTC investigation with the topic of ESPN doing a story about fighter pay in the UFC, basically discrediting everything that’s put out online and in the media. At around the 10 minute mark, Dana starts drawing a line in the sand (or digging his own proverbial grave, your viewpoint may vary here).

DANA WHITE: “My point is… you know, like I said, you don’t mess with the Government. You start messing with the Government and what these Internet guys done now is in a situation where, um, you know it’s almost like New York (9/11), you know, in New York when the Towers got hit. People didn’t run away in fear. Did people run in fear? People mourned and then this country got together, you know, and went out and kicked some ass. That’s what happened. And now you guys on the Internet, doing this goofy stuff playing your little nerd games, you’ve pissed some people off.”

MAURO RANALLO: “Including you.”

DANA WHITE: “Including me, and you don’t scare me.”

MAURO RANALLO: “What are you guys going to do about it?”

DANA WHITE: “Sit back and see what happens over the next several months, you know, and just like any other war, any other fight, that’s what this is going to be, you know? But let me tell you what — you want to get out there and they always talk about me and bullying people or whatever, I’m not a bully, man. If you want a fight with me, let’s fight. We’re going to fight then!”

MAURO RANALLO: “We’re not going to see a change? Even now with Fox and we’ve talked about this before, too, I mean you go on the Internet and you tell people off when they have something bad to say for you. For Dana White, this is what we’re always going to get. No one, Fox won’t change you, no one will change you?”

DANA WHITE: “No. What’s [to] change?! I mean, these guys are hacking my web site. What do you want me to do? Go, ‘stop hacking my web site!’ No, I’m going to kick your ass. Go ahead, you want to keep playing these games? Play ’em. You’re going to lose. You’re going to lose, you can’t stop the Internet… you cowards all hide on the Internet, you don’t scare us. We’re going to find you. Believe me… this is bigger than me. This is bigger than me! This is bigger than the UFC. You go out there and start acting like a terrorist? You’re going to get Osama Bin Laden’d.”

**

As always, you can watch the video and listen to the audio of the interview here to check for quote accuracy. Needless to say, I think everyone will be talking about these comments today.

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 47 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

47 Responses to “Dana White uses 9/11 analogy for Anonymous UFC site hack, says they’ll get “Bin Laden’d””

  1. fd says:

    Dana getting into a pissing contest with Anonymous is dumb because there’s no upside to it. Even if he wins he hasn’t really gained anything, and in the meantime it’s a pain in the neck.

    It’s not nearly as dumb as the mma media, yourself included, is working themselves up into a tizzy over, because ultimately it’s going to amount to very little. The UFC website got defaced with a script-kiddie browser-injection, and they published some inaccurate Dana White personal details. The net impact on the UFC’s business is gonna be zilch, and there isn’t going to be much more than has already happened.

    People proclaiming how “serious” this is and working themselves into a lather about big, scary hackers don’t actually understand who and what Anonymous is.

    • Jay says:

      “Even if he wins he hasn’t really gained anything, and in the meantime it’s a pain in the neck.”

      Are you serious?!?!? Hasn’t gained ANYTHING?!?!? How about the HUGE amount of free publicity, right before their second FOX show? He’s TOTALLY winning out here, ya mar00n.

      • fd says:

        The mma media and some people on twitter discussing Dana and the UFC isn’t a “HUGE amount of free publicity”, it’s “what happens before every UFC event”.

        • Zheroen says:

          Game, set, match to fd. This won’t have the slightest effect on ratings for the FOX show, if one (stupidly) believes this to have been a calculated ploy for media attention.

    • RST says:

      “Dana getting into a pissing contest with Anonymous…”

      That should be rather obvious to everybody.

      Since website hacking is completely out of his field and thats what they do.

      Dana should know well what happens if a BJJ guy tries to strike with a boxer, or if a boxer goes to the ground with a jitz guy.

      Maybe Dana got confused about his tech savvy when he learned how to use twitter.

      Now if Anonymous had dared Dana to a sport promotion challlenge, I would bet on dana.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    They say there is a fine line between being brilliant and being crazy. Dana White certainly walks that line.

    For this topic specifically…. He’s not even close to the line. He is acting crazy. He was calling them “Terrorists” during his Ariel Helwani interview. Somebody needs to put down the FOX News Crack Pipe and come back to reality.

    He really should just be ignoring these people. But Dana White seems incapable of this. He does not have an off switch.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And I should hedge my bet by saying there is about a 5% chance that he is just brilliant.

      1) He is a major topic on twitter and has made front page of Yahoo. All of this happening on the same week of a major MMA card.

      2) There is always a small chance he made those comments because they had already alerted the government and when the current attacks happen, there are people monitoring it happening.

      Either way, some of the stuff coming out of his mouth is not good….

      • mr. roadblock says:

        What would really be brilliant is if UFC ‘hacked’ its own website to get the free pub for the FOX card.

    • Mark says:

      Dana “not having an off switch” is exactly what I’ve been saying for years is going to be a huge problem for Zuffa one day. And everybody ignores it because they think it’s funny when he goes on rants or claim “doing this is part of what makes UFC popular” (which couldn’t be more wrong.)

      Now, I am not saying this is that “one day”. Far from it. This is totally unimportant in the long term. It will blow over and nobody will remember it in six months. But I hope people see how he is acting right now as a warning sign that people saying he needs to grow up and act like a real executive isn’t just sour grapes because they don’t like him.

      As for claiming this is good publicity, no, this proves that “any publicity is good publicity” is a B.S. cliche. While Anonymous doesn’t have as many sympathizers as they think (since the internet echo chamber doesn’t correspond to mainstream public opinion a lot of times), their targets are never sympathetic. And overreacting like this is just going to get you a few weeks of “Wow, look at this: a gang of trolls versus a millionaire troll in a pissing contest.” That’s not good, nobody who isn’t a UFC fan is going to watch FOX tonight just because of this.

      If Dana really wanted to stick it to them, he should have gone the other direction entirely and played up not giving a crap about this. That would piss them off when you bring up how unimportant and boring what they do is. Say “Hey, we’re down a few hours. Big deal. You’re not stopping the media cracking down on piracy, kids.” It would sting because it is true.

      • RST says:

        “Dana “not having an off switch” …”

        Lol.

        Thats a good description for him.

        What did they say on that TV show?

        Its a blessing and a curse.

  3. Norm says:

    Has anyone ever come across the theory that the US government is actually behind annonymous and the hacks that occur get publicized to garner public backing for these ridiculous “laws” SOPA/PIPA/NDAA?

  4. Zheroen says:

    LOL, what a moron.

  5. nottheface says:

    Of course, Dana fails to note that it is against FTC policy to make any comments about investigations. And didn’t Lorenzo confirm that they are under FTC investigation during the ESPN OTL program?

    Maybe last nights hack attempt wasn’t the most sophisticated but Dana challenging them, calling them terrorist all while the UFC keeps lobbying for SOPA, seems like a good way to draw more attacks from more talented hackers. I would imagine harassing an alpha-male like Dana is got to be like catnip to nerds. Also wouldn’t imagine it’s the best time to use my credit cards to purchase a UFC club membership.

    • RST says:

      Well abusing epithet’s like “terrorist” to justify his financial wants is offensive enough to make me feel just that much more justified if I decide to pirate some UFC content.

      Dana should have stayed out of this arena in public whatever his personal feelings about it were.

      He’s still making money hand over fist and should be thankful for his luck and blessings instead.

  6. The Gaijin says:

    People keep saying these Anonymous dealings provide firepower for proponents of SOPA and PIPA, and I am at a loss as to why one would think that.

    SOPA and PIPA are “designed” to act as the enforcement arm of MPAA and RIAA and shut down sites that engage in piracy, provide access to pirated IP and copyrighted content, etc., etc. and were written by the “old” media lobbyists and copyright cartels. But since MPAA and RIAA are run off ridiculously idiotic “old” media dinosaur mentalities they extended their powers to insane levels that would allow them or pretty much anyone else to shutdown websites they simply didn’t like (and created the scenario where “boogeyman” governments could shut down free speech or communications avenues like the ones that were essential to Syria).

    They have literally NOTHING to do with internet hacking and or the type of activities Anonymous is engaging in. The NDAA might be another story completely given Dana and I’m sure others attempts to freely use the word “terrorist” when talking about them and their actions. However, this continued “Anonymous is giving SOPA/PIPA advocates leverage and firepower for their cause” is just mind boggling since neither SOPA nor PIPA addresses the issues at play with this type of internet activity – and if someone raised them as being useful tools against “uprisings” then they’d kind of raise the curtain on the types of powers SOPA/PIPA would give corporations that they’ve been trying to smokescreen and that people have been up in arms about.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      You are correct in that hacking has nothing to do with SOPA or PIPA. But you are giving an educated view point.

      Do you think politicans, who never grew up with the internet, are going to understand the difference between all of this? Highly doubtful. It becomes simple….. Bad people on the internet = more regulation. That’s how they will see it.

      • The Gaijin says:

        Ok, that makes sense given the state of the knowledge lawmakers have of the internet or any new media for that matter.

        I’m still not sure a lot of people on-line are making the connection you’re making and they legitimately think this getting brought back will actually fix what’s happening with Anon, at least given the arguments they’re making…

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Yeah, I don’t think most people can make basic connections on topics. But that’s just my cynical opinion of the masses.

          The thing about Anon is that everybody is afraid to go against them. Even Tech Journalists won’t dare say anything that will put them on their radar.

          It sort of reminds me of what happened with Rupert Murdochs Tabloid Magazines in the UK. They were getting dirt on celebrities and everybody was afraid to go against them, even though they knew what they were doing was not right.

          But there was a tipping point. They went too far, and then it became an avalanche that couldn’t be stopped…. And now they are done for.

          The same thing will happen with Anon eventually. They will take something too far. And then it will come crashing down. It won’t happen with this UFC issue. But at some point it will.

          I’m not sure if I think more highly of Dana White or just think he is a complete fool here. I understand the logic of what he is doing. He is refusing to take this sitting down like everybody else does. More people and businesses need to do that. But he is also putting his company at risk because there isn’t enough support across the tech community to end what Anon does right now. So he is a lone soldier who is going to get wrecked.

          Either way, this will end in a week or two and then they will find somebody else to pick on….. Until someday they cross the line too far….

        • RST says:

          “People keep saying these Anonymous dealings provide firepower for proponents of SOPA and PIPA…”

          People who are spineless bootlickers.

          People who would huddle quietly, not rocking the boat, shining the boss’s shoes and hoping that they dont lose their remaining freedoms.

          People who would gradually and inexorably lose their remaining freedoms.

    • Steve4192 says:

      SOPA/PIPA have about as much to do with hacking as Iraq had to do with 9/11. Look how that turned out.

      Never underestimate the idiocy of politicians.

      • RST says:

        I dont like the way Dana is using buzzwords like “terrorist” and aping the rhetoric of a politician in this argument.

        Dana is good at fight promotion.

        I like when he does that.

  7. cutch says:

    Anonymous are’nt an org btw they are an idea it’s just Anons of UGNazi.com hacking the UFC website.

    The personal stuff they posted about Dana you can buy for about $25 and you could proably find that stuff on google.

  8. Megatherium says:

    Dana Whites’ persistence in his battle with the hackers reminds me of the Black Knight in Monty Python and The Holy Grail defiantly refusing to give up the battle after his arms and legs have been hacked off and he’s been reduced to a stump.

    “Come back here and take what’s coming to you you yellow bastards! I’ll bite your legs off”!

    I’m actually surprised that Dana has the latitude to create such a shambles of things with out being put in check by the majority owners.

  9. Kevin says:

    I think Dana should stand up against the hackers. I don’t know why anyone would want him to just sit there and take it. That’s a weak move that shows the world that if you do this kind of thing, you get what you want… the submission of your victim. Yes, victim, because that’s who’s on the end of these attacks, a victim, not a criminal.

    Look, I get that not everyone likes Dana. But, if he or anyone else allows themselves to be intimidated by Anonymous or any other group out there, then you lose and Anonymous/Hackers win. They’ve silenced you. They’ve bullied you into submission and nobody else will speak up against them. To beat a bully, you stand up and punch him back. Otherwise, the attacks will continue for sure.

    I don’t think Dana is digging his own grave here, either. There will come a time that these individuals are caught, and they will be punished, severely. You will see them being made public examples of. With money like Sony behind the hunters of these criminals, you can bet they will eventually be exposed and dealt with accordingly. It will be ugly and they will be harsh examples of.

    • The Gaijin says:

      There’s a big difference between not being pushed around and pulling this retarded “COME AT ME BRO!” bullshit he’s doing. He’s antagonizing them and “daring” them to hack his site – not sure what he expects but this is far from him protecting himself from being silenced.

    • Bryan says:

      The problem with that though, is there is no one central figure behind Anonymous. As pointed out here and many other places, they are a collective of many, many people, in many different parts of the world. You may see an arrest or two, but you can’t just pinpoint someone and say “We have captured the head of the hacker group Anonymous.” If one does fall, there truly are others who can and will pick up the slack.

    • RST says:

      Actually its the murikan citizens who are the victims, of PIPA and SOPA.

      And Dana put himself in the line of fire by publically supporting that.

      If he didn’t want trouble then he should have kept his mouth shut.

      (Fat chance of that eh?!)

      • RST says:

        Dana is the one who inserted himself into this.

        He even did it AFTER the takedown of MU and the hacks had begun.

        He knew what he was doing, or should have.

        He’s no innocent victim.

        Anonymous didn’t just seek him out to “bully” him for no reason.

  10. Stel says:

    osama bin ladened? SO does mean that anonymous has already died of kidney failure? and for the next ten years zuffa, like the zionists used bin laden, will use “anonymous'” name and phoney messages in order to justify their fascist goal of world domination, or in Zuffas case… just domination of the internet to protect us from those axis of evil hacker guys?

  11. Todd says:

    The fact that people think the UFC will bring down Anonymous after countless governments and law enforcement agencies have failed is either the funniest or saddest thing I’ve heard in ages. I wish Dana’s secret Ninja squad luck…he’s going to need it.

    …that being said, Dana is a jackass and deserves everything he gets from his stupid fake tough guy act.

    • Mark says:

      True, but also ridiculous is thinking Anonymous will bring down the UFC or anybody else who supports anti-piracy laws. I couldn’t think of a dumber strategy to try to get what you want by doing something illegal like hacking. Protesting should be positive. When people protesting by marching end up rioting and vandalizing, they play into the hands of those they are protesting. They say, “These guys are criminals so we must be right.” And that’s all Anonymous does. They need a new strategy, but that’s not going to happen with that braintrust.

    • RST says:

      “The fact that people think the UFC will bring down Anonymous after countless governments and law enforcement agencies have failed…”

      Its silly isn’t it.

      They’ve attacked pentagon websites.

      Never underestimate a bootlickers faith in their masters.

  12. Steve4192 says:

    The thing that sucks about all this is that the Anon dorks aren’t limiting it to attacking big, bad Dana. One of them just pulled the same data dump on Mayhem Miller, just ‘for lulz’. There was no need to drag Mayhem into this.

    Anon is not some organized group with a mission statement, goals, and a plan. They are a bunch of immature, basement dwelling, hot pocket eating virgins, who hack people on a whim. Of course, the upside of there being no grand plan or organization is that you can’t catch a giant amorphous blob of people who have no ties to one another.

  13. edub says:

    You know, if Anon really wants to make a statement, they’ll go all out. Release all info on figher pay, release Zuffa’s bottom line on cost/revenue, release all payouts to shareholders.

    Fuck it, go nutz.

    • RST says:

      That would be interesting.

      But they’re not really trying to be malicious as much as making a statement through obstruction and annoyance.

      A digital protest.

      Obviously they have the ability to rob and steal and screw someone over royally.

      But I’ve rarely heard of anonymous themselves going so far.

      They seem to generally be satisfied just proving that they CAN.

      Which has always been a major component of the hacker cultures attitude.

      But I don’t think that Dana understands how bad it COULD get by continuing to instigate these dudes.

      It could get much worse.

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/16620784/challenge-by-dana-white-might-have-led-to-vegas-woman

    Looks like whoever leaked Dana White’s information didn’t even do it right. Now some woman is getting harrassed.

  15. spacedog says:

    Dana is fuxored. There is NO WAY he can begin to win this fight. Anon is far, far better than he gives them credit for, their not just “a bunch of nerds” and anon and the internet at large THRIVE on confrontation. If Dana wants to see how well fighting anon works, he has to look no further then Scientology.

    And all his promises that they can’t do any real harm show just how clueless he is. Wait until they disrupt online activity while he is trying to stream a fight. Or they release all fighter pay records. Or put his cell phone # and private email out on the net. Dude needs to get a clue.

    • Mark says:

      I mean no offense, and I do support many of the causes Anonymous has taken up. But you are in the “internet echo chamber” if you believe Anonymous matters to reality.

      What cause have they taken up that Anonymous scored a victory?

      Did they stop Scientology censoring material and suing people? No.

      Did they shame Arizona into stopping their controversial treatment of immigrants? No.

      Did they get Megaupload put back online? No.

      Did they get PayPal and credit card companies to change their minds about allowing Wiki Leaks donations? No.

      Are they going to stop any media company from demanding tougher laws against piracy sites? Not a chance.

      Even if they did everything you think they could (which I doubt), what would it accomplish? Is UFC going to back down from wanting stricter laws against Streaming sites? Or are they going to just get a more secure host and push for anti-piracy laws even more?

      Again, I support many of the causes they take up. But I am tired of pretending like they are saving the world. They really don’t matter to grown ups living in reality. Well, except the media who love making them a polarizing story once in a while. But they don’t live in reality. 🙂

      • Bryan says:

        Well as RST pointed out a few posts prior, obviously they haven’t gone too far yet, but they just like to prove that they can. Combine that with a combative and confrontational personality like Dana White has, and it’s just a recipe for trouble.

        • fd2 says:

          Except that as Mark pointed out, they’ve completely failed to “prove they can”. If anything, they’ve proved they can’t.

        • Mark says:

          The bulldog attorney for Scientology and “Sheriff Joe” from Arizona were far more confrontational and easier targets than Dana. Where were these elite super hackers you Anonymous marks speak of?

          “BUT! BUT! BUT! THEY HACKED THE DOJ AND PENTAGON!” And that accomplished what exactly? A bunch of 15 year olds being giddy on 4Chan? Wow, they sure showed Big Brother.

        • RST says:

          IMO they should abuse their skills.

          They should be taking down politicians, halliburtons and wallstreet bankers at every opportunity.

          But as you noticed they are mostly kids and they dont see the big picture yet.

          Hopefully they will get around to it.

  16. RST says:

    Interesting how all these “Dana comforts victems of the mean ol hackers” stories are all coming from fox news affiliates.

    There’s no significance to that.

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