Dana White on judges, Frank Mir and his career

His demeanor following the UFC 119 card in Indianapolis was uncharacteristically curt. Dana White's postfight press conference was short, and not overly sweet.

He then promised himself that he'd stay quiet for a good long spell, or he'd risk speaking with an excess of candor. Thankfully for us, we managed to lure the UFC president into a chat to offer an examination of a card which was brought down by a mega-dud of a main event, and the candor flowed like the river of friend requests ringcard girl Arianny Celeste gets on Facebook.

Here are three main takeaways from UFC 119 from the UFC's head honcho.

White's not budging on the judging

White said he wouldn't have been overly surprised if ex-welterweight champion Matt Serra (17-7) had his hand raised after his ballsy showing against Chris Lytle (40-17-4) in the battle of 36-year-olds.

Lytle, an ex-pro boxer and Indy native, earned a unanimous decision in a standup battle. But White feared another judging snafu after the arbiters saw 37-year-old Minnesotan Sean Sherk (38-4-1) as the victor over 28-year-old Oregonian Evan Dunham (11-1), who almost submitted the veteran a number of times.

"Dunham won that fight," White said. "The judges give to Sherk. People then ask themselves, 'What the f--- was that? It makes people angry. It p---ed me off. You have that, and then the main event [a dud between Frank Mir and Mirko Filipovic], and then even though there were a bunch of great fights, especially in the prelims, and that's what people are left with."

White hammers it into his fighters' heads: if you don't finish the fight, you run the risk of being robbed … like he thinks Dunham was.

"Our judges are so bad," he said. "That's why I tell guys, you better get in there and handle your business yourself."

Not Mir-ly miffed

When a guy talks the talk like ex-heavyweight champion Mir (14-5) did about how he'll put Filipovic's leg on a mantle with other trophies from fellow victims Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar, White wants him to walk the walk.

Sadly for the fans in Indy and in TV-land, Mir's trash talking far exceeded his effort in the Octagon.

"I have no clue about Frank," said White, before offering a clue. "To talk the stuff he does, and then fight like he fought, that's a little frustrating. Once "Cro Cop" stuffed his takedown attempt, his heart fell out on the floor. If Frank Mir can't bully you, his heart shrinks to the size of the Grinch's. If he can't take you down, his heart shrinks to the size of a pea."

Might we have seen the last of the 31-year-old Mir, a UFC fighter since 2001, in the Octagon? Could White cut him?

"Sure," said White, wiping some candor off his chin. "You really, really need to show up and deliver. This is a job."

Which leads into our last takeaway …

He'll take their job and shove it

White doesn't get the outcry which flows when he cuts a subpar performer, as he says he's contemplating with Mir.

"You go to your job and don't perform; what will happen? And when people say, 'Hey, these guys put their lives on the line,' that's a crock of s---. This sport is so safe. These guys have chosen to be fighters!"

White says there are many jobs out there that put men and women at bigger risk, with far less of a payoff.

"These guys aren't going in to Afghanistan," he said. "The US military puts their life on the line. Police, firefighters walk into the line of fire … UFC fighters do not. These are smart guys with college educations. If they don't want to do this, go out and get a real job."

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=5621844



I love the fact that Dana is constantly having a dig at the terrible judging,it's got to be frustrating when it's plain to see and has been for along time that dana and the UFC are disgusted with the judging and are crying out for consistency or change,yet when these farce decisions happen,they somehow always blamed for it.
The first thing that should happen is for the commission to fire Cecil and 50% of the problem is already solved.


I think Dana's is abit out of order with,his comments on Mir though,especially since he has said FA about Cro-cop and his part in the fight also.
I can see his frustration,since we are all feeling the same about it,but I don't think I agree with him airing it like that(but what should we expect from him by now) and also down playing their jobs so much,but I do agree with the statement that,the sport is safe and they chose to be fighters.

Overall I get and agree were he's coming from with all this,as it's really a fans opinion,but the problem with Dana,is sometimes he should separate his fan opinion,stay quite an cool off abit and then approach some of these topics as a boss and not an upset fan.

i don't like him talking about fighter's heart in public in this way.
its ok for us to comment on it since this is just talking shit on an internet forum...but how is Dana's heart? did he ever get into a cage?

Who's Dana to question Mir's heart? That's absolutely ridiculous. It's fighters like Mir that allow Dana to have a job, not the other way around.

edit: beaten by a minute ;(

Yeah,completely agree,they are comments that he should not come out with and I think he's being a dick airing this when it's obvious he and Mir have had problems for a while.
This is when he should be a boss,and that kind of shit is what he can say,if he likes to a fighter behind closed doors.

Just found this,I'm sure this won't help.

Frank Mir's Son Snaps

Dana White made a controversial move last night when he opted not to award Frank Mir the ‘Knockout Of The Night’ bonus despite the fact his last minute KO of Mirko Cro Cop in the main event of UFC 119 was the only one on the entire card.

Mir admitted himself that despite the KO he was disappointed with his own performance in what was undeniably an extremely lackluster fight, and he made no mention of being overlooked for the $70,000 bonus after the fight.

If Frank Mir’s son Marcus’ angry comments on twitter since the fight are anything to go by then it seems that behind the scenes the Mir family are fuming about the snub.

“wow i cant believe my dad @thefrankmir didnt get knockout of the night!!”

“f*ck that sh*t dude! no knockout of the night?! thats some damn bullsh*t! !”

“no KO of the night! i bet if cro cock got a last minute KO hed get KO of the night”

“even if you dont like someone, you cant do that to a fighter who trained soo hard and went out and knocked out a legend in the sport!!”

“@danawhite is just trying to blow this whole thing off but i know hes mad that @thefrankmir KO one of the best in the sport so hes srugglin to handle that fact right now!!! so let him drive away on his lil yellow lambo an keep hatin!! hes mad he will never get a chance to get in the cage and do what these guys do!! so lets enjoy ourselves and let him hate!”

Frank Mir has still stayed silent on the matter, but both his wife Jennifer and the ‘Team Mir’ twitter accounts also expressed some disbelief at the decision, though in less heated terms than his son.

So far Dana White has shown no indication of backing down on the matter though, telling one fan:

“You think mir should be bonused for that AMAZING performance last nite! Lmfao!”

There have been signs for a while that their relationship has been somewhat strained. Earlier in the year Mir had made a comment stating he hoped his nemesis Brock Lesnar would die in the octagon. Needless to say that didn’t go down to well with White who forced the fighter to make a public apology.

Shortly afterwards Mir was relieved from his co-commentator duties at the UFC’s sister promotion the WEC, though Zuffa denied it was a direct response to the comments.

The bonus snub certainly doesn’t help to mend any bridges, and Mir’s son’s heated comments have the potential to widen the rift between them even further.

Update:

Marcus Mir has now sent out another message on twitter apologizing for his irate remarks in the wake of Dana White’s decision.

“I apologize for my inappropriate language towards dana white,just mad that the first fight that doesnt get KO of the night happens to my dad”

It appears that his twitter account has since been deleted. Looks like his dad might have had a word with him about it before he caused any further damage.


I completely get where this kid(not sure how old he is) is coming from,afterall his family have just lost out on 70k in his eyes,actually my first thought was he should of got it,but after thinking about it,I think they are correct in not awarding it.

A "bonus" is just that, a "bonus". It is not guaranteed money. It has become customary for these awards to be given out so maybe some fighters and fans have forgotten that the bonus' are there to motivate fighters to put on exciting fights. They are not there to be defaulted to the one guy who gets a KO when noone else gets a KO. They are there to say "Holy shit! Great finish to a great fight! Here's some extra money so you can do it again next time!"

The UFC are not going to cut Frank Mir, Dana is just talking shit to get Mir fired up.

Not really anything he could say against CroCop. He took the fight on short-ish notice it wasn't him walling and stalling.

i dont understand what his problem is with mir, mir is open with his own critism and does not need dana blowing his horn like that. i can see when dana is upset that a fight wasnt as exciting as he hoped but regardless of the outcome dana always makes a profit from any event.

mir has 1 bad fight and gets critisized, what about crocop he hasnt delivered in a few fights even when he wins and dana isnt saying anything. i think he is making mir a scape goat as if he cited his anger at crocop he would endure a backlash from fans who regard him as a legend.

Also if it's true that the Fertitas are such big fans of Cro-cop,maybe Dana knows nothing good will come out of him criticizing and speaking bad about him.

What a load of bollox from Dana. Seriously how many times has Mir put on a performance like that? Mir is one of the most entertaining fighters at HW. Your bound to see him scoring a great sub win or Ko, or watching him get KTFO'ed !!


Why hasnt Dana talked about Randy's heart then? For fuck sake Crocop is so good at getting underhooks in the clintch and is very difficult to take down. It was a stale mate.

redmeanie77 wrote:
Why hasnt Dana talked about Randy's heart then? .

Oi watch it you

Randy is just one gigantic walking,talking,breathing,mean son of a bitch of a Heart,so hush it

I like Randy aswell, but i cant understand what Mir's perfomance at UFC 119, has to do with Dana coming out and having a go at him for showing no heart.


What did he want Mir to do when he couldnt get him down? A reverse flying omaplata into an armbar????

No,I completely agree with you on this,Dana's out of order on this one,yes it was a shocking performance from Mir,but his heart has never been a question in the past,and shouldn't be question now,especially from Dana.

I'm getting a bit fed-up with Dana's fucking antic TBH. I cannot stand Mir, but, Dana has to start acting like the boss of a major corporation and not as some 'dude in the fucking hood', and I'm sorry, but, if he has an issue with the judging (as most of us have), why doesn't he try and do something about it?

Is it really just me who thinks that Dana saying this is a good thing?


I can understand where you're all coming from but can only disagree. Dana saying this about Mir will obviously make Frank wake up and smell the coffee, he talked smack before the fight and didn't back it up against a (like it or not) short notice, injured, past it CroCop.


He chose to laugh and joke with Mirko during the fight and that is not what he's paid to do.

Once Mohawked Pete wrote:I'm sorry, but, if he has an issue with the judging (as most of us have), why doesn't he try and do something about it?

That's the thing that I find frustrating,all he can do is make his feelings about it public and complain,and hopefully get the commission to listen and act.

Dana or the UFC can't do anything about it,but for some reason,they get blamed for a lot of it,they have zero say in these things,like they have zero say in any decision the commission makes.
The athletic commission are a completely independent company who oversee all combat sports that take place in that state,they make the rules,they license the fighters,they supervise the events,they choose the refs,they choose the judges,they enforce the tests(the UFC do have there own tests also,but they are completely separate from the tests enforced by the commission)they are the ones who give the medical clearances and they also the ones that issue the punishments and suspensions.(again the UFC can hand out there own punishments and suspensions,but can do zero about the ones the Commission hand out)
The UFC decide how they handle there employees and how they produce their product,the judging,the refs and the rules and any other decision the Commission make,they have absolutely zero say about it,which is how it should be,to keep it all neutral and fair,the problem seems to be,that the guys that make up these commissions are like most overseeing groups,Usually a bunch of old stubborn farts,that have never had any personal experience in the matters that they rule on,that never want to make changes on the decisions they have made in the past,because that seems like an admition to the fact they have got things wrong and were not doing there jobs properly in the first place,and the more people that complain,the more they stick there heels in.
Changes usually only happen,when old gits retire and new blood is introduced and they have enough backing within the commission to bring in there own fresh ideas.

Basically the Athletic commission allow the UFC to hold there events at the venues they allow,as long as the UFC abide by there rules,that's it,the same way it is for strikeforce,Bellator or any other US ORG.The UFC can file there grievances,just like any of us can write in and complain,but at the end of the day,it's all down to the Athletic commission to choose whether or not to act on them or just completely ignore them.

For once I think Dana is spot on here. You have to look at what he's trying to do, rather than what he's saying. He wants to get under Mir's skin and get him fired up so the next time he fights in the UFC he goes out and wants to knock someone the fuck out instead of the passive shit.

Anfields5thKing wrote:For once I think Dana is spot on here. You have to look at what he's trying to do, rather than what he's saying. He wants to get under Mir's skin and get him fired up so the next time he fights in the UFC he goes out and wants to knock someone the fuck out instead of the passive shit.

Exactly. At least someone agrees.


These comments will get Mir riled up and wanting to prove a point to Dana. If he's the "top five HW with amazing stand up" he really should have run through a tentative lower tier fighter, but he didn't.

His next fight should be fun

Mir has had 17 fights in the UFC only 1 decision and 1 fight went to the 3rd round he has finished 11 out of 12 fights thats 92%.

Dana is not trying to get Mir focused, he is having a go at him for that poor fight. Which is why he did not give him the KO of the night bonus. he said so himself....

I hear what you're saying Payne, and no-one is suggesting that Dana, or Zuffa, has complete control over MMA, but, surely there is a better way to do it? I just don't see all this public whinging and moaning doing the sport any good. Is there a case for all governing bodies getting together (for the sake of MMA) and trying to get some sort of resolution? Or is the answer, as some have suggested, to simply get rid of Cecil Peoples?

With regards to his comments on Mir, I personally think that he's right, but, that there's a better way for it to be handled.

I don't know Pete,I personally think Dana making his feelings about the judging and the fact that they don't seem to be listening or willing to do anything about it,public,a good thing,it hopefully gets fans on board by getting the issue out there,then hopefully the pressure created by the public aswell as the Orgs,on the Commissions,will make them act,since they have obviously not been listening so far and hopefully that will be the extra nudge they need to change some of the things that are blatantly wrong.

The Commissions would never get together and agree on something,you'd have to get 50 separate groups that run there own states to all reach an agreement,there would be more chance of Dream,Bellator,Strikeforce and the UFC all deciding to merge.

So yeah to start with,get rid of Cecil and that will go long way towards sorting things out

Dana IMO should say those things to Mir behind closed doors and not in a rant to a reporter.

Once Mohawked Pete wrote: I just don't see all this public whinging and moaning doing the sport any good.

Agreed, ridiculous to claim otherwise. This will just make the commissions harder to deal with and create a bigger divide between judges/referees and organizations. The commission will not take kindly to being openly put down. They will simply become more stubborn and more reluctant to make changes. The same way the governing bodies in boxing used to react to public criticism from promoters.