Dana White is rarely short of a few choice words for his critics. His explicit aspiration when he acquired the UFC was to become a major sports personality, like Vince McMahon. So when fights fans criticize Dana over his choices, like fighter pay or cracking down on streaming, he tends to lash out.
Fans have voiced their disapproval over the UFC’s decision to host an interim heavyweight championship only three months after Francis Ngannou won the title. As White told MMA Junkie: “Why doesn’t everybody just shut the f*ck up and let me do what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years?”
Dana to whingeing UFC fans: “Shut the F*ck up!”
“If you want to fight, I got fights every Saturday. If you don’t want to fight, no problem. Fly around the world, go on f*cking vacation, do whatever the hell you want to do, and when you’re ready to fight, we’ll be here.”
White got bored waiting for Ngannou to defend his freshly acquired title, and moved quickly to grant an interim title shot to Derrick Lewis, who is currently on a four-fight win streak in the heavyweight division. Cyril Gane, too, entered White’s good graces, with the undefeated French fighter’s recent decision win over Volkov.
“If anything, this will make the title fight even bigger when these guys fight.” “It’ll be champion vs. champion and if Derrick Lewis wins, Derrick Lewis is the guy who beat him.
Ciryl Gane has never fought him, and he’s undefeated, which means if he beats Derrick Lewis, the guy who beat Francis Ngannou, and he’s still undefeated going in against Francis Ngannou, that’s pretty f*cking exciting.”
Derrick Lewis infamously fought Francis Ngannou on the latter’s way to the top of the heavyweight rankings, a fight widely considered to be one of the worst of all time. Lewis won the bout via decision, only after three rounds of the two men circling one another and doing little else. Between them, the two fighters only threw 33 strikes, total.
Cyril Gane, on the other hand, has never lost a MMA fight. He dispatched many of the UFC’s heaviest hitters, including Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Volkov. White is absolutely correct that a fight between an undefeated prospect and a veteran champion is one of the most intriguing matchups possible at 265 pounds.
Do you think Dana was right to schedule an interim bout so soon after Ngannou claimed the undisputed strap? Does either Ngannou or Gane have what it takes to seriously challenge Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments.
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