The UFC president has a message to all fighters who want to pick and choose their opponents.
UFC president Dana White is fed up with what he believes to be fighters wanting to cherry-pick their opponents, and he’s ready to put his foot down.
On the heels of the Yair Rodriguez situation, which saw Rodriguez released (but ultimately brought back) after White claimed he turned down multiple fights, Dana voiced his displeasure on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. (Via MMA Weekly)
“Listen, I get into these things where this is the fight business and the UFC is the elite of the elite in mixed martial arts. You get into these situations where you get these guys that don’t want to fight certain people. If you don’t want to fight certain people, this probably isn’t the place for you,” White said.
“I’m looking for people that want to be world champions that want to f–king fight the best in the world. If you’re not that guy, then there’s plenty of other places where you can go and make money. This place isn’t for you.”
White took things a step further by suggesting we will see more fighters off the roster for turning down bout offers.
“That’s what I’ve run into with a few guys. You’re going to see more of it. There’s more coming today. I’m not f–king around anymore here,” White said. “If you don’t want to fight, don’t sign here. If you want to hand pick fights, don’t sign a contract here. This isn’t the right place for you.
Dana compared the current crop of fighters to “the old days” and said that such instances rarely happened back then, and that those fighters would show up and fight whomever was put in front of them.
White even acknowledged that other promotions are willing to pay some fighters more than in the UFC, and that they can feel free to compete in another organization if they’re unwilling to take on the best matchups.
“You’re here to fight and you’re here to become a world champion. If that is not what you are here for this is not the place for you. You can go many other places. They’re paying guys great money out there right now and a lot of times you can go out there and make more money than you’re making here. Knock yourself out. That’s where you belong. You don’t belong here.”