An Alternate View of Dana White's Online Media Rant

by Andy R on Jan 1, 2010 12:20 PM EST

Dana White's anti-Jake Rossen rant from his second UFC 108 vlog has been a hot button issue this week and to a large extent has overshadowed UFC 108 itself. I won't bother rehashing the issue, as there are several excellent articles on this site and others on the subject, nor will I offer my opinions on the matter. Instead, I will argue White's rant was a shrewd business move.

One aspect of this story that has been overlooked is Dana White's choice to target Sherdog for not covering the UFC properly. I believe this was done intentionally to pressure Sherdog in particular because of its postion in the MMA media. Sherdog is a popular site and provides MMA content for espn.com. I feel safe making the assertion that ESPN is one of, if not the, most popular sources of sports coverage in the United States. As a major provider of MMA coverage for ESPN, Sherdog.com wields a higher degree of influence than most MMA websites. A quick glance at ESPN's MMA section reveals several links to Sherdog.com itself.

Because ESPN links to Sherdog, it is of much greater concern to Zuffa how Sherdog chooses to cover MMA. Casual fans who go to ESPN for information will be subject to how Sherdog covers the sport. Non Zuffa or negative Zuffa coverage from Sherdog have a more meaningful impact than how MMA Weekly chooses to cover the sport. Hence, it is smart for White to pressure Sherdog as much as possible for extra coverage, and more importantly, extra positive coverage.

This position is all speculation on my part. It is entirely possible that this is just another time Dana White let his emotions get the better of him and created an issue he didn't really want. It's possible White truly doesn't care what Sherdog does, even though he spends an awful lot of time talking about it. But given the history between Zuffa and Sherdog and Sherdog's position in the media, it's worth considering that this was an intentional move by Dana.

What do you guys think?

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Comments

Dana’s point if he even has any tends to get lost in a monolague oof swear words and “M kays”. The media are not “Anti Zuffa” but it is true that some take any opening they can to jump on the hate wagon. Dana probably has a point but as i said it is lost in the f bombs.

by Riley_96 on Jan 1, 2010 2:19 PM EST reply actions

I think there was some motivation on Dana’s part to get Sherdog to get some of it’s writers to think twice about spouting off any negative comments. To make sure those negative comments are fair and warranted and being articulated without some sort of bias.

Just BE.

by mattman73 on Jan 1, 2010 2:54 PM EST reply actions

At least this interview with Helwani makes me think that.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/12/31/dana-white-defends-ufc-108-recent-media-stance/

Just BE.

by mattman73 on Jan 1, 2010 3:10 PM EST up reply actions

“Dana White is not a nice guy and he uses bad words” is the go-to opinion piece for MMA columnists with writer’s block. Eventually you get used to seeing it every time there is a lull in the news cycle or whenever writers decide it’s easier to roll out of bed and crap opinions than to actually do research for articles.

by Stanlee on Jan 1, 2010 2:55 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Dana made a very good point in his interview with Cofield.

And it goes for not only MMA online media, but media as a whole; a shining example being CNN. Journalists are scared shitless of being perceived as “nuthuggers”, “in the tank” etc to the point where it can be detrimental to their coverage and their objectivity. They sometimes overcompensate.

by Polyh3dron on Jan 1, 2010 3:43 PM EST reply actions