Dana White Calls TUF 9 Format "Dumb"

Dana White has spoken out on the upcoming ninth season of the Ultimate Fighter. Surprisingly, the president of the UFC had nothing nice to say about it.

Dana White has called the idea of a UK vs US format "dumb" and that "he doesn't like it."

White says that the idea is gimmicky and goes against his philosophy of simply finding the best fighter in the world, regardless of the country that they are from. He points out examples of how UFC fans will cheer or boo a fighter without regard to which country they are from. For instance, an American crowd might boo Tim Sylvia but cheer Georges St. Pierre. Their place of birth doesn't determine whether or not they are popular - their level of skill does.

So what happened? Isn't Dana White in charge? Why would he sign off on an idea that he despised from "day one"?

Let's not forget Dana White's "big" announcement from June of 2008.

Lorenzo Fertitta, part owner of the UFC, announced that he was resigning from his position as President of Station Casinos to devote himself full-time to the promotion.

Fertitta's primary focus? Heading up the UFC's global expansion.

Lorenzo Fertitta is the Chairman and CEO of the UFC - meaning, the only one that has a bigger say in the direction of the company than Dana White (who is the president and part-owner as well). So clearly Fertitta went ahead with the idea of a US vs UK TUF season despite the howls of protest from Dana White. Dana White has been out-voted before - he was against the idea of a US vs Canada PPV card, but that went ahead regardless. A US vs UK show format clearly fits in with the idea of expanding the UFC's global reach. The British love their reality TV shows, and this format for the ninth season of the Ultimate Fighter was clearly designed to appeal to the casual British viewer who might get roped into the world of MMA after watching.

I can't imagine that Fertitta is too happy about Dana White speaking out about the show, but that's what you get with White - a promoter with a big mouth who has turned the UFC into one of the most recognizable sports brands in the world.

It will be interesting to see what happens if this new format catches on with fans (especially overseas). Might we have US vs Brazil in the future? US vs Japan? I wouldn't bet against it.

Source: Dana - New TUF Series is 'Dumb'

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