When the bout between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alexander Gustafsson fell through it was a bit of a drag. It was the first step in getting Gustafsson back into a title rematch against Jon Jones.
When Nogueira dropped out, he got grief from fans as well as Chael Sonnen who bashed the Brazilian on Twitter for pulling out of yet another fight.
What we found out this weekend during the media scrum for after UFC Fight Night 32 was that Nogueira had never said he'd take the fight to begin with.
Here's the quote from Dana White per MMA Junkie:
"What happened was that night we decided to make the fight," UFC President Dana White explained. "Gustafsson said yes, and they couldn't get hold of him, so I said, 'F--k it,' and just went with it and announced the fight, and of course, he's hurt."
...
"The fight isn't for four months, and he's already determined he's hurt," White said. "I don't understand that. The guy is always hurt. Every time you call him, he's hurt."
It's quite the solid logic there:
- Dana feels like Nogueira is always hurt
- He couldn't get in touch with him, so determined he should just make the fight anyway
- He was then upset to find out that Nogueira was hurt
Wouldn't the logical and safe assumption if he is "always hurt" be that you should get his OK before announcing a fight involving him?
And, beyond that, the fact that a fighter doesn't even have to be talked to to be put in a fight speaks very clearly to just how little say managers and fighters have in their own careers.