Don King Talks MMA with USA Today:
How serious is your desire to be involved with MMA?
I'm the people's promoter. Whatever the people want, I'm going to promote. Whatever the public wants, that's what I want to give them. I want to give it to them with candor so they can quantify, qualify and identify with whoever the athlete is.
Your rival Bob Arum has made condescending remarks about MMA, referring to their fan base as too unrefined. Your thoughts?
They are Americans. They are people. Who am I to say that something is wrong with them when I'm always crying about, "Why you're treating me this way?" They bring competition. They bring people. Let's enrich it and monetize it. Let's bring the people something.
When you bring a new store to town, you can choose between the prices and the fabrics. When I bring my guys in we'll be getting prepared to take on Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta in their league vs. our league. The same thing I want to do with the sport of boxing I want to do with MMA. Make it competitive, man. Make it a comparison. Even though they've put on good fights, let's see what they do with someone totally independent.
So does this mean you're adding an MMA arm to Don King Productions?
Well, I can't do this all by myself. I'm 78 but I'm not slowing down. I've got all the time in the world to rest when I get to heaven.
21 days ago
Luke Thomas
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If Don King makes it into Heaven I’ll eat a hat.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by AboveThisFire on Oct 30, 2009 10:47 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
LOL…I’m interpreting his comments to read that he’s interested in promoting MMA but he doesn’t want to front the money all by himself to begin the venture. He wants partners and currently doesn’t have any.
by SlickRick00 on Oct 30, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i second that lol
He’s promoter he’s paid to talk all …thats all he is doing right here
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by ultmma on Oct 30, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If there is a heaven, I’ll eat every hat.
by MMAInFeRioRiTy on Oct 30, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions 8 recs
That’s a lot of hats man, that bet worth it? I mean just think of the intestinal problems of eating potentially millions of hats… ugh talk about a horrible bout of constipation.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by AboveThisFire on Oct 30, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
but his chances are pretty good for not eating hats
you know, given his original argument :P
Machida is a god
I now drink my urine daily
by orcus on Oct 30, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
But think of all the hats? I’m not sure I can comprehend what that many hats would look like! Won’t someone please think of the hats?!
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by AboveThisFire on Oct 30, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Aaaaaaand that’s a rec. :)
I love me some Sexyama!
by pud333 on Oct 30, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If you are wrong then trying to eat that many hats will be a great way to get there quickly. Win-Win
by HighNoon on Oct 30, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Suicide does not get you in to heaven!
Machida is a god
I now drink my urine daily
by orcus on Oct 30, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
When I bring my guys in we’ll be getting prepared to take on Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta in their league vs. our league.
sorry Don, many have tried, many have failed… why do noob promoters (in MMA that is) want to create league vs league? UFC will never be down for that, they should just stay focused on their own promotion and leave the UFC alone, and hopefully they can grow and become competitive. Any mention of the UFC will make the big dog bark.
Machida is a god
I now drink my urine daily
by orcus on Oct 30, 2009 11:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Don King stay the hell away from MMA!!!!
by thesource on Oct 30, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
nice. posted the same comment at the same time.
by exsanguinator on Oct 30, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Don King needs to stay the hell away from MMA. Nothing good can come of this.
by exsanguinator on Oct 30, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Could you image the circus that would be Don King + Gary Shaw + $kala involed in the same MMA Promotion?
by EVeezy on Oct 30, 2009 11:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think you forgot one VERY important component
Jerry Millen.
by ufc4 on Oct 30, 2009 11:45 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Jeremy Lappen as well!
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
by iiowyn on Oct 30, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just what mma needs: More words senselessly regurgitated from the Q section of the dictionary.
by judonerd on Oct 30, 2009 11:44 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs
I'm not sure i'd want to see him in MMA...
…but at least it’s nice to see a big name in Boxing not just calling it a gay-fest for a change.
by Barry619 on Oct 30, 2009 11:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
it’s about the money lebowski!
Machida is a god
I now drink my urine daily
by orcus on Oct 30, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dana White is the face of the UFC
A problem with the UFC is that the president of their company is the face of UFC/MMA…I think a man with Don King’s promoting abilities would make the FIGHTERS the face of the UFC and MMA in general.
MLB, NBA, NFL, boxing…fans dont care and dont hear from the presidents of these leagues….fans care about Alex Rodriguez, Lebron James, Adrain Peterson, Tom Brady, Floyd Mayweather, Manny P……
All you hardcores…ask some non-hard cores on the street if they know who mauricio rua is..who is yoshihiro akiyama, who is fedor emelianenko and who is dana white….you’ll be surprised. By the way- just imagine how huge all these fighters would be if Don King got his hands on them??
by oousty on Oct 30, 2009 12:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Dude… Don King only cares about one thing: Don King. Plus, the UFC makes plenty of stars: Chuck Liddell, GSP, Lesnar, Couture, BJ Penn just to name a few. What the UFC has done is to create stars, but also create a brand that is above any single fighter. So if they have a situation where someone like Rampage leaves, it won’t hurt them. It’s a balancing act. You can’t hedge everything on just your fighters, or else they have all the power.
I love me some Sexyama!
by pud333 on Oct 30, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Please don’t try to convince us that DW is any different.
I am blinded by a sea of green.
by bubbafat on Oct 30, 2009 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dana is different, he actually cares about the sport. Obviously a lot of the reason he cares is because the sport is what makes him money but Don King has never put a cent of his own money into furthering the sport of boxing, only furthering his own agenda.
by ufc4 on Oct 31, 2009 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why isn’t he dead yet? He’s looked the same for the past 50 years..
by ontite on Oct 30, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sucks the stem cells out of baby fetuses.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by AboveThisFire on Oct 30, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Don’t forget bathing in the blood of virgins.
I love me some Sexyama!
by pud333 on Oct 30, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
who cares about hats
if Don King goes to heaven that means all religion is fixed.
Him in MMA would be a monumentastic failure to keep the sport legit.
its unacceptable, inconsionalistic, and a lot of other made up words
by son of mark on Oct 30, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The boxing model won’t work for MMA and MMA fans need to hope Don doesn’t ruin the way the sport is ran by holding a couple events which destroy the MMA payscale.
- From my piece on this on SBNation.com (which you guys do read regularly….riiight?)
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 30, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
what I mean by that...
is that I hope Don doesn’t go “How does $6 million a fight sound Dan Henderson?” because if he throws a boxing type contract at a guy who isn’t that top shelf talent it is going to make the top level guys want either more cash or to move toward that model. It would be a disaster
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 30, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Isn’t that pretty much what happened to affliction? Offered big money to guys that weren’t really big time except Fedor. Arlovski was looking at making $1mil there vs fighting o nthe under card for the UFC.
by YoungGun on Oct 30, 2009 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
maybe thats what he means by monetizing
or he’s gonna print his own money and give it to the fighters and tell them it’s good in Don King heaven.
by son of mark on Oct 30, 2009 1:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
While he is not the sole reason...
Don King epitomizes everything that has driven me away from following boxing closely like I used to as a kid. As much as Dana White can irritate me with his antics at time, I would rather support his product than have a single dime go to the pocket of that bastard King.
"The ball always seems to find Ed Reed...The man is a menace"
by UMBC Oriole fan on Oct 30, 2009 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
rather he call himself the people’s promoter than the fighters’……the stuff about that just makes me shake my head.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
http://theworldsoldestsport.blogspot.com/
by theworldsoldestsport on Oct 30, 2009 2:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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