So much for Dana taking Strikeforce under his wing

Quote :

UFC president Dana White is going to remain just that.

While the fiery UFC head recently said he was going to take sister company Strikeforce under his wing and bring it to the next level, White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he'll be hands-off from now on.

"I'll never make that mistake again," White told MMAjunkie.com. "UFC is what I am and where I should have been."

Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, purchased Strikeforce in March 2011. Strikeforce since has struggled to find a real identity, and many MMA fans have wondered aloud exactly how the promotion would carry on. It looked for a while in late 2011 that it wouldn't, but Zuffa officials and Showtime brass – the executives in charge of the premium-cable channel that broadcasts Strikeforce's events – reached an agreement to seek out mutual goals.

Many MMA pundits pointed to the departure of former Showtime exec Ken Hershman as the chief reason the two sides were able to make progress, and White openly expressed his eagerness to make an impact in the promotion, beginning with Saturday's "Tate vs. Rousey" event.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really excited for that fight," White told MMAjunkie.com this past month. "I'm really excited."

White was so excited, he was actually supposed to attend the event in Columbus, Ohio, rather than the previous night's "UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann" card in Australia.

But at the last minute, things changed. According to White, new Strikeforce boss Stephen Espinoza decided maybe not all of the changes the UFC boss proposed would find their way into the event.

And, White said, he didn't have the courtesy to even make a direct call, instead preferring contact with fellow Zuffa exec Pete Dropick.

"I almost missed the first UFC fight in 11 years, and then I get the phone call from Pete Dropick when I'm in Japan," White said. "'Yeah, listen, they're not going to change pretty much any of the stuff you wanted.' So I said, '[Expletive] them.'

"You flew out to Las Vegas and wasted my time. Go talk your boxing [expletive] to somebody else."

White declined to specifically address what changes were proposed and/or nixed beyond "a few minor tweaks that we thought would make the live show better."

However, he did make it clear he thinks Showtime is making a very poor decision.

"These guys are letting a D-level producer run their organization, and that's exactly what I told Espinoza," White said. "You want to let a D-level producer run your organization? Go for it brother. Knock yourself out. I've got [expletive] to do. I've got another job."

What that means for the future of Strikeforce remains to be seen. In the meantime, White said he will abide by the terms of the current deal and do his best to please MMA fan. He just wishes he could have done a little more.

"The positive thing is we own Strikeforce," White said. "Strikeforce is never going to suck. We own it. The fights are going to be great. There's going to be a better in-house show and all that stuff.

"I'm going to do what I'm contractually obligated to do. I'm contractually obligated to Showtime to do certain things, and I'm going to do them."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/27714/dana-white-now-hands-off-with-strikeforce-says-showtime-execs-nixed-input.mma

That sucks

Wonder what changes he was making?

Good. Worry about your own shit, for once.

Espinoza is a douche, he refuses to accept Bute vs. Froch.

because he probably wants Ward/Bute instead of 2 Bute/Froch fights

KingsOwn19 wrote:

because he probably wants Ward/Bute instead of 2 Bute/Froch fights

Ward ain't interested in Bute, he said Bute needs to beat some elite SMW's first, so what better way to silence Ward's new fond snobbishness by going to Froch's backyard to face him. It's a joke that Showtime are rejecting that but would settle for Bute vs. Dirrell.

Jesus Dana is an idiot. He is assassinating a brand in his own company with this. Strikeforce is great and always has been, ergo why Zuffa bought them, and I am sure Lorenzo and Frank are not happy about this. Maybe Dana is shitty that Strikeforce fighters have been murdering UFC fighters to this point. I donno.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Jesus Dana is an idiot. He is assassinating a brand in his own company with this. Strikeforce is great and always has been, ergo why Zuffa bought them, and I am sure Lorenzo and Frank are not happy about this. Maybe Dana is shitty that Strikeforce fighters have been murdering UFC fighters to this point. I donno.

Overeem > Brock - halfway expected, halfway shocked
Werdum > Big Country - expected
Diaz > Penn - shock
Condit > Diaz - shock

Am I missing anyone?

Lavar vs Beltran
Hendo vs Shogun(While I know it ultimately was a Pride vs Pride battle, it counts now because Hendo was a Strikeforce champ and Shogun won a UFC title)
and Diaz vs Condit doesn't count since Condit is really a WEC branded fighter and thus factors into the WEC>UFC theme.
Shawn Jordan vs Oli Thompson im gonna count too cause it makes my case look better.

In closing

Pride/WEC/Strikeforce>UFC

Overeem gonna take that gold..we'll see what Bigfoot, Cormier, and Babyface do when they arrive. I'll decide who had a better division once we see Mir and Cain lock up with some of these guys, and after Uber-JDS of course...but SF HW division was not only very top heavy, but guys like Lavar and Jordan are proving the depth was there and Griggs, SDR havent fought yet. Then you had Fedor and Sergei who should be in the UFC.

We'll see. This was a venomous argument when Fedor signed with Strikeforce and i was treated like a fool for defending what the SF HW division would become, but my powers of hindsight and the free fall of Lesnar(the big trump card) seem to change the game and make me feel i was right. Though i never claimed back then that SF had a better division, i just said they would be able to produce the challengers for Fedor.

I'll give it more time though since Mir and Cain are big deals, not really gonna talk about Carwin who i never thought was that great...But i think Uber takes duh belt.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Lavar vs Beltran
Hendo vs Shogun(While I know it ultimately was a Pride vs Pride battle, it counts now because Hendo was a Strikeforce champ and Shogun won a UFC title)
and Diaz vs Condit doesn't count since Condit is really a WEC branded fighter and thus factors into the WEC>UFC theme.
Shawn Jordan vs Oli Thompson im gonna count too cause it makes my case look better.

In closing

Pride/WEC/Strikeforce>UFC

So Condit is WEC yet Hendo is SF even though he spent more time in the UFC and Pride than SF. Anything to make your point I guess.

I think SF has done well, but no is surprised with the few matches we gotten.

He was a standing SF champion who he counts in the context of the Sf fighters who came in and dusted up on UFC fighters

I wouldn't count Hendo as a strikeforce fighter since he had more UFC fights than Strikeforce fights. He really only had one fight out of Zuffa when he parted with the UFC.

But he was a SF champ who only came back to the UFC because of the purchase so he fits in the context based on that. However Dan is promotionless and timeless and ageless.

Hendo was with SF at the time, so when comparing rosters during that period, he has to be considered a SF guy.

And if we are going with Wolfs Pride-wec-sf>UFC argument, then Hendo would prob be considered a pride guy, but timelines and guys moving in and out of rosters makes the argument very muddled and prob not one worth pursuing.

Whatever rationale has the UFC losing is the one I go with. Because I hate the UFC for destroying Pride and the WEC. At least SF is still around putting on awesome events.

But the UFC is also putting on awesome events. I'm not sure where this is going really.

Of course the UFC puts on awesome events and is without a doubt the number 1 MMA promotion all time. This is a tongue and cheek discussion sir for hardcore MMA fans who also loved the WEC and Pride and Strikeforce. You're alright ludo when you're not such a literal, wet blanket. Quit it durd.

Just do like popeye said and says whatcha mean and means whatcha says, ugg gugugugugugug.