Tag: Dana White (Page 4 of 7)

UFC on FOX Press Conference Highlights

August 18, 2011 / Drew Ellis

In case you missed it, the UFC announced its new partnership with FOX Television.

A new 7-year TV deal will start in November with a live event on FOX and the broadcast mogul will air four live events per year.

The deal also includes six live cards on FX, as well as two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter per year, which will now include live fights each week.

Fuel TV will also receive some UFC programming, likely in the form of pay-per-view prelims.

Here are some highlights from today’s press conference:

This is a landmark deal for the premiere MMA organization and a sign of big things to come for the UFC.

Rumors have the deal at nearly $100 million a year for the UFC, which is quite a jump from the reported $35 million a year it got from Spike TV.

Fighters, News, UFC, Videos

Dana White Fox Fuel TV FX Lorenzo Ferttita

White won’t confirm UFC to Fox reports

August 16, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null The UFC could be leaving Spike TV and heading to Fox, in what would be a major upgrade for the promotion.

This is according to a report from the Sports Business Journal, which announced the two struck a deal to hold four events per year on broadcast TV.

In what would represent a major push into the mainstream for the UFC, Fox has agreed to a deal that will see the broadcast channel air as many as four MMA events per year, according to several sources.
The multiyear deal would mark the first time the UFC will have consistent airtime on a broadcast network. Fox execs refused to comment on the deal, but sources with knowledge of the negotiations said bidding had gone as high as $90M per year.
The Fox deal is believed to be for seven or eight years. As part of the deal, most of the weekly programming that UFC has on Versus and Spike TV will move to FX starting in January. That includes several fight cards, plus shows like the reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.”

However, UFC President Dana White wouldn’t confirm or deny the deal during the UFC 136 pre-fight press conference in Houston today.

“Everyone is asking me to comment on the Sports Business Journal article. Well, there’s a reason I haven’t, just like I didn’t comment on the Wall Street Journal article on us buying G4.”

White wouldn’t hesitate to announce this deal if it was done, so there must be something still undecided about a possible agreement.

FOX would be a good fit for the UFC, as the network has always been a bit edgier than the likes of CBS, ABC, or NBC.

News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Dana White Fox UFC 136

UFC on Versus 5 Recap: Lytle goes out a winner

August 15, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null UFC on Versus 5 took place Sunday night and the fights were as exciting as advertised.

The big winners on the night were Chris Lytle and Ben Henderson.

Lytle defeated Dan Hardy in the main event with a guillotine choke late in round 3. Lytle announced on Saturday night that he would be retiring win or lose after the contest and he shared a nice moment with his kids after the victory.

The fight was a slugfest as we expected, with Lytle doing a good job of working the body and Hardy landing some nice crosses. Surprisingly, neither man crashed to the ground and lasted nearly the whole fight before a big uppercut to the ribs forced Hardy to shoot on Lytle. Not having much wrestling experience, Hardy left his neck open for Lylte, who secured a very tight choke and got Hardy to tap with just 44 seconds left in the contest.

Lytle finished at 31-18-5 in his career and won five of his last six. He also secured Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night honors, a cool $130,000 in bonuses.

Hardy has now lost his last four in the UFC, but Dana White announced that Hardy will not be cut. Still, the colorful fighter seemed crushed by yet another loss.

In the co-main event, Jim Miller was unseated as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division by Ben Henderson. Henderson put on the best performance of his career in dominating Miller for 15 minutes to earn a decision victory.

Events, Fighters, News, Results, UFC

Ben Henderson Charles Oliveira Chris Lytle Dan Hardy Dana White Donald Cerrone Frankie Edgar Gray Maynard Jim Miller

Strikeforce, Zuffa done with Fedor Emelianenko

August 4, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Fedor Emelianenko may not be ready to retire, but Zuffa thinks he probably should.

While the company didn’t specifically say that, it was made pretty clear that they have no more interest in Fedor when they decided they will not pursue a new contract with him.

According to MMAFighting.com, Dana White made his feelings about Fedor pretty clear.

Fedor Emelianenko will be cut from the promotion following his loss to Dan Henderson at last Saturday’s Strikeforce/M-1 Fedor vs. Henderson event.
UFC president Dana White — a co-owner of Strikeforce parent company Zuffa LLC — confirmed the news following the UFC 133 press conference on Thursday.
“He’s being cut, yeah,” White told the media. “Why? Do you think we should keep him?”
“You guys thought he was the pound-for-pound best in the world, but I thought he was overrated for years.”

After being unbeaten for 10 years, Fedor has now lost three straight, all by stoppage.

While he still seems competitive, it is clear the mystique behind “The Last Emperor,” has clearly dissolved. His drawing power is not what it was, and Zuffa is no longer interested.

You can’t blame Zuffa from a business stand point, as dealing with Fedor’s extra management of M-1 Global was hard enough when he was on top of the MMA world, it could be even more ridiculous now that he doesn’t have the same credibility.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Antonio Silva Dan Henderson Dana White Fabricio Werdum Fedor Emelianenko

Overeem booted from Strikeforce Grand Prix

July 18, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Zuffa wanted the Strikeforce Grand Prix to continue in September.

Alistair Overeem wanted it to continue in October.

Looks like Zuffa won.

MMAFighting.com is reporting that Overeem’s decision not to fight in September has caused him to lose his spot in the tournament altogether.

UFC president Dana White, who as a Zuffa co-owner oversees the Strikeforce brand, told MMA Fighting that Overeem is out. White’s confirmation backed up an original report from Tatame, which reported that Overeem was out and Daniel Cormier will replace him.
But while there was speculation as to whether this meant the end of Overeem’s run in Strikeforce, White also told MMA Fighting that while Overeem is out of the tourney, he is still employed by the company.
A September 10 semifinal would have been a three-month turnaround, and Overeem said that he could not be ready after taking vacation and nursing some injuries. He added that Zuffa had threatened to remove him from the tournament if he would not participate.

A heavyweight Grand Prix doesn’t make sense without Overeem taking place. It seems like Zuffa is trying to rush this Grand Prix through in order to develop bigger plans, but making one of the top heavyweights in MMA an outcast isn’t really going to help the cause.

Events, Fighters, Strikeforce

Alistair Overeem Dana White Daniel Cormier Strikeforce Grand Prix Zuffa