Herring on the UFC

Heath Herring is not trying to start a crusade; he's just looking out for No. 1.

In a Wednesday interview with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), the UFC heavyweight addressed several controversial statements he made four days prior during a segment on an Orlando ESPN radio affiliate.

In the interview, Herring bluntly said that the UFC plays favorites and does not make it worth his while to make fighting a priority.

Herring said the statements have been blown out of proportion and assured fans he is not trying to alienate his fight employer nor give up on the fight game.

He is, however, attempting to seize several opportunities in the entertainment industry that have followed after a canceled fight with Cain Velasquez at UFC 99 this past June. Herring withdrew from the Cologne, Germany card's co-main event with a serious bout of the flu.

"It's not fiscally responsible for me to turn these opportunities down [when] they might pay off better than what my fighting career is doing for me right now," Herring said.

Herring (28-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has not fought since August 2008, when Brock Lesnar defeated him by unanimous decision at UFC 87.

"I really don't care too much for [the UFC], (and) I don't think they care too much for me," Herring said during the ESPN affiliate interview. "With … the UFC's pay scale and as much as it costs me to get ready for a fight, at the end of the day I made like 40 grand.

"These guys are literally making money off our blood, sweat and tears. (UFC president) Dana White's got six Ferraris. Hell, I just want one."

The former PRIDE contender said he acted in several film projects in the latter half of 2009 – including a role in the upcoming Angelina Jolie-starring action flick "Salt" – and was briefly involved in a restaurant start-up. He also took a commentating job this past October for a new fight promotion in San Diego, Calif., that holds a regional TV deal with the CW Television Network.

"I think the whole five Ferrari comment is that at this point in my career, I'm actually making less money than when I was younger and I was 23 years old," Herring told MMAjunkie.com. "Like I said, I've got these business opportunities that have arisen, and it actually makes more sense for me to try to do that financially than try to take the time out and fight. That's the decision I'm being faced with right now."

It wasn't an easy decision, he noted.

"It's obviously a risk that I wrestle with on a daily basis," he said. "It's been a very tough decision for me. But with my current contract, I feel like I've hit the glass ceiling, so to speak. It's not that I don't ever want to fight again. But I have to be intelligent with my body and my time, and (if) I can find something that pays off better, I need to go down that road.

"I've got a lot of scars and wounds but not a lot to show for it. It's like, 'Do you want to keep destroying your body?' I love fighting. But it's like you wake up one day – and I'm almost 32 years old now – and you say, 'What have I really done? What's the legacy I've left for my child and my family, other than do you want to watch me on YouTube? You want to watch me on Spike TV?'

"It's not really intelligent for me to continue down this road and look up in five or 10 years and be like, 'OK, what did I get here?'"

Herring said his UFC contract expires April 10 and does not anticipate a fight before its time runs out. In the past, the promotion has not taken kindly to those who criticize its business practices.

So where does that leave him?

"I don't know, now," he said. "Obviously, the way that that interview was taken and blown out of context, I think Dana's very vindictive. I think when he gets upset about something, he tries to stick it to whoever.

"But on the other side, I'm one of the few marketable heavyweights. I think I'm making them more money even by this stuff. By causing a commotion, it's even putting my name out there more, which is more marketing for them at this point. I'm not trying to cause a crusade against the UFC by any means."

Even if fighting is not first on his mind at this point, Herring plans to stay involved in the sport however he can.

But of the question asked of him daily – when are you going to fight? – he can't answer.

"I don't now," said Herring, who said fans can check out his commentating work at www.ia-mma.com. "This ride's been pretty wild lately. I'm just enjoying the ride right now and seeing where this is going to take me."