UFC President Dana White

By Jesse Heitz

For my twice weekly articles I generally like to pick currently developing stories and bat them around, as many regular readers can attest.  Usually, these pieces are serious in tone, often critical, but not always.  However, it’s Christmas and it’s high time that I chatter about something that is light-hearted in nature.

In a recent interview in his native Brazil, as reported on by MMAFighting.com, former UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva likened UFC President, Dana White, to George W. Bush.  In the interview, the former champion stated,

“I think that Dana could let me tryout in taekwondo for the 2016 Olympic Games and let me fight Roy, but if he let me do that, he would need to let other fighters do their things, so he would lose control.”

“[Dana White] is a big dad, but we have our fights all the time.  He’s the Bush of MMA.”

“My biggest goal as a fighter is (fight Roy Jones Jr. in boxing).  I watched him compete for many years and it’s a personal dream to fight against him. He said he also wants to fight me, and it would be a great experience.”

I find this comparison to be highly unusual, perhaps best taken in while sipping on a glass of spiked eggnog.  For the record, the comparison stems from Silva’s belief that White exerts a little too much control over his employees.  If I’m not mistaken, that’s what bosses do, particularly in the sports business when it concerns their marquee talent.

Silva has grumbled, although light-heartedly, about White’s snubbing of his extra-curricular boxing and Olympic Tae Kwon Do aspirations.  To be honest, I’d probably do everything in my power to veto such things as well.  As the head of the sport’s largest promotion there’s no way that I’d let my company’s cash cow draw notoriety, or money, to any other organization.

I must admit that I do get a kick out of Silva’s desire to stick his hands in several different fighting pots, so to speak.  I get quite the laugh out of Dana White’s bewildered response to such an off-the-wall comparison.  Life in the UFC’s executive office must be pretty interesting given the characters that comprise the promotion’s roster.