UFC 100 Quote of the Day 2: Dana White: "Brock Lesnar Apologized to Me"
by Kid Nate on Jul 12, 2009 11:30 AM EDT
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"I was blown away. I don’t think in the history of the UFC we’ve had anybody do that. It’s not who we are, and, to be honest, it’s not who he is. You hang with these guys personally, and you get to know them. If he was a dick, I’d tell you right now this guy is a psycho and I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. He’s not. He’s a smart guy. The sponsorship thing was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life."
"Brock went so far over the top, I can’t even put it into words. WWE -- that’s what it is. We had a talk. We talked like men, and he said he was sorry. He said, ‘I’m embarrassed by what I said.’ I take his word for it this time."
Dana White talks about Brock Lesnar's post-fight antics. Via Sherdog.
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I wish I had a transcript of how this conversation went down. I’d also like to know what Dana said to get Brock to sit back down at the prefight presser.
Brock is just a loose cannon I tells ya! No tellin what that crazy guy is gonna do next! Buy his next PPV to see what happens!
Keep firing Assholes!
Thanks to Bisping's lack of senses, walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
Lesnar is a total weirdo.
I haven’t been scared of my TV since I was 9. Last night when Lesnar got in a disoriented Mir’s face after winning and then began to speak, I felt like I was having a rough acid trip. If there is order in the universe it will come out eventually that Brock Lesnar is a closet homosexual and this will explain his bizarre and eratic behavior in interviews.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
So the idea
that he was still amped up from adreneline after aveging the inly loss of his career, and hearing thousands of people boo him so he said a bunch of stupid stuff he wish he hadn’t, that isn’t an option? We automatically go to mental illness or blaming homophobia?
Who’s projecting now, hmm?
"We're not the other teams' farm system." - Andy MacPhail
by duck on Jul 12, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I guess perhaps they have watched more than just one MMA event. Seriously the guy ran his mouth it happens all the time in this sport.
In fact, it happens quite often in pretty much every sport.
It would be preferably that athletes behave themselves, but lets not act like this is something unheard of.
People are acting like it’s some kind of big deal when it just isn’t so that does fit right in with the “arguement”. Welcome to professional sports, acting like an adult is the odd behavior.
People generally don’t like it, regardless of the sport. I don’t like it being excused ‘because he was worked up’. Adults act like adults, if they don’t then they get the consequences (which is often simply fan disapproval). No more, no less than that.
As Dr. Phil would say, “He has to own his behaviour” (and god, I just made a dr phil reference…_
People overexaggerate this stuff (I have done that myself in the past), Brock’s actions didn’t do Brock any favors but the idea that it somehow hurt the UFC or the sport of MMA is a bit silly. The NBA had players go into the stands and fight the crowd and it didn’t hurt that sport long term, Brock’s mouth being a bit out of control during a post fight interview isn’t a blip on the radar.
And I honestly don’t think what he did was all that bad, as far as athlete outbursts go. Inviting boos and flipping off the crowd has all been done before. Bragging about beating your opponent is extremely blase in combat sport. Denigrating a sponsor is not a good idea, but he really only complained that they didn’t sponsor him personally, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he gets sponsored by them going forward. None of these things rise to the level of the kinds of incidents that are really “bad for the sport.”
Mainstream journalists might write snotty articles about his behavior—after all, the UFC’s chief promoter and face of Western MMA to boot called an ESPN-affiliated reporter a liar and a bitch and it was forgotten within 10 days—but that really doesn’t affect the sport, and it certainly doesn’t confront me on a personal level.
The counter-point to this
(not that I want to hand myth extra ammo) is that the UFC specifically, and MMA in general, are not nearly as integrated in society as the NBA, NFL, MLB or Boxing. When people have previously accepted something, it becomes easier to dismiss negative aspects of it as less relevant (kinda the opposite of the Lesnar haters’ inability to let go of the ‘he only wins because he’s HUGE’ phenomenon).
MMA hasn’t gained true, bulletproof mainstream acceptance yet, so its position is more tenuous than the previously mentioned sports/leagues. But honestly, we aren’t far from the time when this status will be in the rearview mirror.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
I agree
I don’t think it hurt MMA or the UFC at all. If anything, it brings in more money from the “I watch car crashes” crowd.
Sad a fact as that is but that’s pretty much the target audience for most physical sports. The NFL thrives on crushing hits and over the top characters, the NBA is chock full of loud mouth nut cases and rap star wannabe’s and does anyone even need to mention the NHL. The “I watch car chrashes” crowd really does equate to North American sports fans in a lot of ways.
This stuff is the reason I don't like him
I don’t care that he’s 4-1 and the UFC Champ, I don’t care that he was in the WWE.
After beating Herring he pointed to his face and laughed at him, like a 9 year old
He throws hissy fits at EVERY interview
He never taps gloves or shakes hands
He is just so completely disrespectful. basically he’s bad for the sport
by TheConcreteKid on Jul 12, 2009 11:46 AM EDT reply actions
But he is a freak of nature and one of the best fighters in the world right now…
How come no one is saying Henderson is bad for the sport, when he openly admits to landing a hard punch to Bisping, even though he knew he was already unconscious?
Please
Since when do you have to be respectful to be a fighter? If anybody was bad for the sport last night it was Henderson (and I’m a Hendo fan).
Trust me, the sport will be fine.
www.mma-elite.com
by Brad Ackerson on Jul 12, 2009 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s a shame you wacky TUF kids missed the NHB years. You would have shat yourselves over the antics of Tank Abbott.
Brock Lesnar is the modern version of Tank Abbott.
I will not buy another ppv with Brock Lesnar as the main event.
Dan Henderson has me as a fan for life.
"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? ... That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2008
I will never
miss another PPV event with Lesnar on it.
by Riney on Jul 12, 2009 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Inflicting unnecessary damage on a defeated opponent? Yes!
Yelling at a defeated opponent? Never!
by Jahbulon on Jul 12, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
Yeah, seriously
What a stupid comment by lovingmma
“Normally, I’m not that kind of guy, and I know when I’ve got a guy knocked out, but that last one was just to shut him up.”
That’s way more classy than what Brock did……
I love Hendo and Brock, so I don’t care, but when you make a comment like that, you look like a total hypocrite.
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!
by TheViking83 on Jul 12, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
stupid?
How is my comment stupid? I just stated that I don’t plan on buying another ppv with Lesnar as the main event. I loved Dan’s knockout even more b/c I don’t like Bisping.
"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? ... That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2008
Can you pleeeassseee come back and explain this to me. If I have an idea of what you’ll say, it’s hypocritical, so don’t say it.
by Gogo Platter on Jul 13, 2009 3:49 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s ok because there are at least a million casual fans of the sport that will drop money of any event he happens to be on. We aren’t the target audience for the Brock Lesnar bit and the rest of the audience is hanging on every word the guy says. This guys is the biggest PPV draw in the sport and he is going to continue to be that even if he does act a fool after his fights.It’s fine not to like it (I don’t care for it either) but it does need to be recognized that the casual fans eat this crap up.
That was Pride and before they lost their tv contract is sure didn’t hurt them any. MMA is sanctioned on the same level as pro boxing so there shouldn’t be any more of a question of it’s legitimacy than boxing faces what’s wrong with a couple of guys actually being “entertaining” too? People get too worked up over the pro wresting comparisons sometimes, hell a significant number of the sports fans came from pro wrestling fans to start with.
Your extreme hate for the man is mind-boggling. You stated you don’t like his personality. Fine, but you continually downplay his accomplishments. I don’t like GSP, but at least I can admit he’s good at what he does.
by cyph on Jul 12, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
My “extreme hate”? Nice. Untrue, but a good attempt. I don’t think not jumping on a bandwagon = extreme hate, and I admit I don’t like the way he acts and things he says.
Also, I do admit what he is good at (that I have seen). He is very strong.
Also again, your comment had absolutely nothing to do with anything, since I wasn’t insulting him or his abilities above. I think the fact that some people are getting upset about my comment (which, read it again, is not bad at all) shows more where all your heads are at.
This wasn’t referring to your one comment. You should check out all your comments regarding Brock.
Yeah, strength is the end all be all of MMA, right? Bob Sapp and Zulu would be king of MMA. But I should know better to reason with you on this topic.
So you admit that you are attacking me out of nowhere, completely unrelated to what I just said?
Kind of like :
“I like cheezburgers”
“fuck you and your loud car!”
Hmmmm….. Hey! Here’s a plan. wait until I actually attack the guy before you jump to his defense.
I see myth is still holding the anti-Brock flag high. You’re gonna need someone to give you a hand at some point, aren’t you?
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
* sigh *
See how bullshit forms?
I didn’t say anything bad about the guy. Cyph jumped on me, and now you do without having read anything that was written.
Read first, please. Cyph is the one starting this “Leave brock alone!” nonsense, when he wasn’t attacked.
Nope,
looks like you’re still doing fine by yourself ;)
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
The more you read into it, the stupider it looks.
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 12, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions
His wwe “persona” wasnt much. For the longest, he just beat the crap out of everyone and never did interviews or much “mike work”. When he did talk more towards the end of his time there he was stiff and it seemed very artificial. The wwe now encourages their wrestlers to kind of “be themselves”, but x1000. I would say this is what you are seeing from Brock. Thats who he is, but he amps it up a whole bunch for maximum effect.
well
i just remember when he wrestled The Rock for the title in New York and Brock was the “heel” in the match but the crowd just loved him, they were chanting his name and just totally didnt give a crap about The Rock. they never really let his personality show through besides being a total beast that could beat the crap out of anyone. i do believe at the end of his career he did some really funny segments with Kurt Angle that kinda showed Brock in a different light than they had before.
The fans in NY are little pricks who always cheer against the grain.
by Applejack McNeil on Jul 12, 2009 2:40 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I don't care what anybody says
Brock entertained the hell out of me last night. I loved every second of it. There have been a lot of cocky @$$holes in this sport, (Rampage’s three or four punches to the head of a knocked out Silva while the referee was trying to pull him away comes immediately to mind) and the only reason everybody is jumping on Brock is because of who he is.
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!
It was his behavior and comments after the win that is so bizarre.
Brock Lesnar is a really strange guy. You could run three of his most recent interviews and see three totally different guys. The guy lacks self-control and doesn’t seem to understand how to just be a regular person. He appears to be an actor who doesn’t know how to turn off the act and doesn’t know which act to put forth.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
you are definitely right
and I think that’s why I find him so entertaining. I know from watching many, many interviews and reading stories from people that know him well, that Brock is actually a pretty level-headed, nice guy “in real life”. But when that adrenaline gets flowin’, he turns into a complete animal. And I get sick pleasure out of watching that, haha!
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!
by TheViking83 on Jul 12, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree. He is just a monster. While he was over the top last night with some of his comment, I can’t say that I wouldn’t get pissed to if the entire crowd was booing me after I just dismantled someone as good as Mir. And to tell you the truth adrenaline does amazing things, I know when my adrenaline gets flowing I am a completely different person than normal both mentally and physically.
You can hate the guy as much as you want but there is no arguing that he us good for the sport. He will bring more eyes and money to MMA than Chuck Liddell ever did by doing exactly what he did last night, during and after the fight.
Due to Cheick Kongo's atrocious takedown defense....
Walla walla walla, I’m an idiot
Some people might say that winning a fight makes you a better fighter but I don’t agree with that.- BlueberryMuffin
by ufc4 on Jul 12, 2009 5:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The sponsorship thing was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.
I didn’t understand this part. Was dana referring to something from the octagon interview? Because people were screaming where I was, and didn’t get to hear the interview.
How taste my pee pee pee? LIKE WIN!!! Thank you Machida!
He pointed to a Bud Light sign (sponser) and said “I’ll be drinking Coors because Bud Light didnt give me any money”.
That’s probably the only thing about it that bothered Dana White. Being a nut is one thing but saying stuff that may hurt sponsor relationships (and the money they pay) is something I’m sure they take seriously.
He said “I’m gonna go home and drink me a Coors Light. That’s a Coors Light, not a BudLight, becuase Budlight won’t pay me anything.”
He finishes with, “Hell, I might even get on top of my wife tonight”
Im sorry but Brock is entertaining as fuck. I can’t wait to see Brock vs Carwin/Velasquez!
Fans: FEDOR! FEDOR! FEDOR!
Goldie: The crowd seems to be chanting "Kongo" here, Joe.
by xFenixKnightx on Jul 12, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
Alright!! I thought I was the only one who thought this was totally entertaining!!
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!
by TheViking83 on Jul 12, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Childish
Comments and actions were childish but the least he could have done was apologise…
I don’t like the guy but he’s like car crash TV – you have to watch it.
I know I should have rephrased – ‘Comments and actions were childish so at least he apologised’.
by constantin3 on Jul 12, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope Dana got what he wanted out of UFC 100
This was supposed to finally solidify the UFC as a legitimate sport. The LA Times even had writers there. They blew it with the Lesnar “act”. Henderson to some degree as well. I’m a HUGE Henderson fan and am very disappointed. Pre fight talk is part of the game, and Bisping’s comments weren’t that bad. I’ve watched since UFC 1 and I have bought way more than half of the PPV’s over the past 16 years. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER PPV THAT FEATURES BROCK LESNAR. I never watched pro wrestling. If this is what Dana White wants the face of his brand to be, I may be done with the UFC entirely. VERY DISAPPOINTED with last nite. spread the word.
And there will be 5 casual fans
who won’t miss a single PPV Brock does.
To be honest, you sound like a Bob Dylan fan when he plugged in an electric guitar in the mid-60s, or me when Metallica cut their hair. Both acts survived just fine without the “hardcore” fans.
/BTW, for the record, Metallica should have never cut their hair. Or hired Bob Rock. But that’s just me.
"We're not the other teams' farm system." - Andy MacPhail
the dumbest buy the mostest.
that’s the name of the game.
Mayo is the official sponsor of Zombies everywhere. I don’t trust you. --The Captain of Cheese
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 12, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah – there pretty much isn’t anyone that bought last night’s card that won’t buy the next one..
By the way, how did that whole ‘Fedor’ chant work out?
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 12, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
All these people getting worked up and saying they will never buy a Lesnar PPV again seems to be the norm for after his fights, people keep saying it yet he keeps selling PPVs at a record pace. What always gets me about it is that I figured “hardcore fans” bought for the entire card not just one fight so it would be just plain silly to judge entire shows on Lesnar having a fight on them.
Yeah, something tells me when Brock fights Fedor all these people will change their mind.
Due to Cheick Kongo's atrocious takedown defense....
Walla walla walla, I’m an idiot
Some people might say that winning a fight makes you a better fighter but I don’t agree with that.- BlueberryMuffin
by ufc4 on Jul 12, 2009 5:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
There are at least ten guys on any main card but people want to say that they will refuse to buy the event because one of the guys may say something mean about Bud Light or flip off the fans after the fight? Hell just mute the guy’s post fight interviews if your bothered by what comes out of his mouth, but more than just his one fight happens on a card.
Brock does seem a little erratic. It’s difficult for me to discern the real from the show. I know some people love that shit, whether they just genuinely get a kick out of it or they want more of a reason to hate him, but it doesn’t personally add much to the product for me. I may be in the minority when the hordes of casual fans are considered.
As long as Brock doesn’t get too out of control, the UFC probably doesn’t have a problem. In fact, having a heel of his stature probably incites some fans to buy his fights. I don’t, however, think that the UFC wants the type of stuff that happened after last night’s fight to become commonplace among the promotion’s fighters. Dana and the Fertitas are trying to break into new markets and raise the UFC to the level of the more popular sports in the U.S. I just think too much theatrics, which are always linked to pro wrestling, makes it too difficult to achieve those goals. I think that’s the way Dana sees it also, agree or not.
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 12, 2009 1:25 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
his antics (to me) seemed to closely linked to pro wrassin’ which can take away from the legitamacy of MMA among new fans
I personally don’t want the sport to be placed in the same category as pro wrasslin’
"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? ... That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2008
I am hard pressed to think of a single popular professional sport that doesn’t have these sorts of antics from time to time.
Never heard Tiger mic'd on a course, have you?
Sailors blush at that man’s language.
"We're not the other teams' farm system." - Andy MacPhail
I’m sure the line Lesnar crossed is that he went after a sponsor (notice the bud light bottle in front of him at the press conference). Heck Tito Ortiz made his name on after the fight antics and even going back to boxing Ali was famous for being outrageous in interviews. This kind of thing is nothing new, besides there is a reason they script WWE interviews the way they do, it’s because it works to draw fans in.
I imagine the sponsor thing was big in the UFC’s collective mind. How could you not notice the Bud Light bottle? There was Tito and a few others who’ve come through the UFC and acted out as a heels fairly regularly. What I see, by and large, are athletes who mainly drop the hostility toward opponents and detractors when the bell rings to end the fight. I think that’s pretty common in most sports. I’m quite aware that “antics” exist outside of MMA and pro wrestling. But the linkage that’s continually drawn between sports entertainment and the unscripted legitimate sport of MMA requires the UFC to tread somewhat lightly in this respect. Dana doesn’t make “freak show” matches, because he wants the UFC to maintain the legitimacy it has worked hard to earn.
Now, what Brock did last night doesn’t equal a fight between a 400 pound guy and a 200 pound guy. I just think Dana and company want to keep theatrics from overshadowing the actual athletic endeavors of UFC competitors. There’s always a slippery slope especially when you’re producing a product that many would still like to banish from existence.
by Cannon Jacques on Jul 12, 2009 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I am not the kind of person who really cares much about what a fighter does outside of his fights, but I think they should all try to remain classy in defeat or victory.
If they want to brag a bit I think they will just regret it later themselves, most personal outbursts involving any kind of emotion are usually only issues which affect the person having the outburst.
It does not really say anything about the sport, or deter the common fan, just says that the individual lacks emotional control.
On a side note though, Brock should never open his mouth about sponsors again, they are supporting our sport, and most of them have been supporting the sport longer than Brock Lesnar has. Turning them away does nobody any favors.
So Brock, ride the imaginary bull, tell people you’re the best, rub it in their face when they win and tell everyone you’re gonna bang your wife, but don’t say you’re going to drink a coors light again. Don’t f with the money!
In his favor
More people will spend money to see someone they hate lose than they would to pay to see someone they like maybe win.
Agreed
He is their cash cow now. He will get a nice field and plenty of bulls (so to speak) to keep him happy.
Brock’s antics last night were out of line, as I commented on (and hundreds of others did, too). But I do genuinely believe he was just amped up from the fight. That doesn’t excuse his behavior, and he sure as hell has some issues to work on, but hopefully he’s been put in line by Dana (I’m sure Dana was more pissed about bashing a sponsor than flipping off the crowd) and will start to grow up a little bit when it comes to his antics.
With his natural power and athleticism, some cockiness should only be expected; the over-emotional nature in which he reacts needs to be tamed just a little bit though.
As far as Hendo’s actions, I think he was speaking a little tongue-in-cheek last night; he knew he hurt Bisping, but was jumping down on him immediately after he cracked him; you’re supposed to go until you’re stopped, and that’s what he did. The comment was in a little poor taste, but I think he’s shown that he’s pure class over the years.
Lesnar is impressive in that he’s obviously a genetic freak and for someone of his size his atheleticism and skill are impressive. On the other hand, he’s a real asshole eh? I’d love to see Carwin or Fedor destroy him. Carwin might have a decent chance as he’s another monster while Fedor is Fedor.
Okay I totally understand Dana being pissed for Brocks antics after the fight. But what I don’t get is him saying is that it made the UFC look like a circus when on TUF they have people jacking off on each others sushi and the guy eating it. That makes it look a lot more like a circus than somebody talking some crap. I’m not saying Brock’s behavior helps the sports image but come on, the crap that happens on nearly every season of TUF makes this look trivial.
by attgnp on Jul 12, 2009 5:21 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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