ESPN's Darren Rovell is poking the bear...

Easier to read version of the story... http://storify.com/dilletaunt/rovell-calls-out-white-on-ufc-numbers#

Rovell calls out White on UFC numbers

ESPN Business Reporter and UFC head Dana White have twitter back and forth on state of UFC business

The
UFC drew the scrutiny of ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell. If you
didn't know, Rovell covers the business of sports and is as active on
twitter as Dana White. Rovell sent a tweet out the following tweet
after UFC 159.





darren rovell@darrenrovell
UFC
is starting to lose a little bit of its edge. Might need to have fewer
events. Know guy who paid $50 for a $553 face seat tonight.


This drew the ire of UFC fans, media and eventually got back to Dana
White. And in usual form, he escalates the criticism to make it
personal.




Dana White@danawhite
@darrenrovell never used to talk out of his ass till he started working for ESPN. Do ur homework before u tweet stupid shit my friend.




darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite appreciate the response as always. Would love hardcore numbers to prove sport is growing as much as it was 2 years ago
Rovell didn't seem pleased about the "ESPN" remark and defended his reason for inquiry.




darren rovell@darrenrovell
@phila20fan always about ESPN right. Not about the fact that I’ve been watching this for 13 years. Was at 1st Dana white press conference


After a query to substantiate the numbers that the UFC was still on the
rise, White indicated to Rovell that he'd get him those numbers





Dana White@danawhite
@darrenrovell u will get them this week my friend





darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite OK. Look forward to it.


On Wednesday, three days after the initial back and forth, Rovell
received his request. It appears to either be a cut and paste of a Fuel
TV press release, a hastily put together word document and/or both.
You can click on the pic to see it close up. As you can read, White
tells Rovell that Zuffa is a private company.


@darrenrovell We r a private comp but heres ur answer 2 ur RIDICULOUS tweet on Sat A guy like u should do ur homewrk pic.twitter.com/KiSKVwzd2z



darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite I said UFC was slowing down. Do you have data to show me that the 2012 NET PROFITS grew at a faster rate than any year before?

The following tweet is a lesson in making sure you read what you tweet. White's response to Rovell.





Dana White@danawhite
@darrenrovell exactly, we are private and don't give numbers. U shouldn't tweet shit that is FAR from the truth when I don't have facts.




darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite if u don’t want me to ask for #’s then don’t give #’s that I can’t verify. Did net profits had their best YOY increase in ‘12?


Rovell did concede that the UFC had some strong indicators of improvement.





darren rovell@darrenrovell
@davemeltzerWON 2013 has been strong indeed. There have been some struggles though.

Rovell then addressed the data White provided to a follower that believed White had shown the reporter up.





darren rovell@darrenrovell
@VikesPessimist I was defeated because Dana whipped up an unverifiable word document?

Rovell did make a back handed complement about the back and forth with White.






darren rovell@darrenrovell
I’ve been going back and forth w/UFC’s @danawhite. If there’s 1 thing I can’t bash it’s that he’s the most accessible head of a sports org.


He then makes the most sense in the following tweets in requesting information that most would ask about a company's financials.





darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite As a reporter, I’d like you to allow me to delve into your financials instead of accept a two paragraph memo. You game?




darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite You guys have had a great run and you know I respect the hell out of you. I’m just asking for what the bankers would ask for.



darren rovell@darrenrovell
@danawhite Because you are a private company and always profess everything is great, it’s hard to take anything at face value anymore.

Prior to receiving the data from White, Rovell ran a poll for his
twitter followers. Its something he does periodically to create
engagement. The poll asks whether UFC has mainstream potential. As you
can read, a little over half don't think so.





darren rovell@darrenrovell
POLL: Do you believe the UFC has mainstream potential among sports fans? #YES #NO





darren rovell@darrenrovell
POLL RESULTS: 55% of respondents say they don't think the UFC has the potential to go mainstream sprts.bz/17rLdRl


Payout Perspective:
Its an
interesting back and forth between a mainstream business reporter and
White. Certainly, there are errors on both sides of the conversation.
Rovell frames the questions differently. He first states that the UFC
has lost its "edge" based on the anecdotal evidence that a friend bought
a ticket for substantially less than face value. He then asks about
the UFC slowing down financially and would like to see its net profits.
White responds over the top. Rovell baits him to provide him data that
the UFC is doing better and then White gives him something that can't
be substantiated. Being a reporter, Rovell is upset and White relies on
the "private company" safe harbor to protect the UFC from having to
release its numbers.
At times, Rovell uses financial information to dampen the mood for fans.
For example, when a player drops in the NFL Draft, he's the first to
tweet how much money that player is losing. Still, Rovell is being a
journalist here and it would have looked better if White could have just
said granted him an interview to talk about it or provided him
information that did not look like it was a press release.
http://mmapayout.com/2013/05/rovell-calls-out-white-on-ufc-numbers-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Payout+%28Payout%29

I cannot stand Rovell. Glad someone trolled his ass during the nba lockout.