Are "In Your Face" Promoters Like Dana White Good for MMA?

Are “In Your Face” Promoters Good for MMA?

While much of the controversy has died down, there was a lot of debate about what role Dana White should have with the UFC after some of his comments in a video blog got him into hot water.  For those not in the know, White was angered by an article by Sherdog writer Loretta Hunt regarding the UFC’s policy of who is allowed backstage with a fighter during events.  Hunt’s article stated that managers and agents were previously allowed backstage, but that the UFC was changing its rules so that if fighters want these people with them, they have to have them in place of one of their cornermen.

White didn’t merely refute the article and criticize its accuracy (though he did do that, as well).  He also unleashed on Hunt, who he didn’t like even before the article, with a torrent of swear words and not-so-friendly sentiments.  When he addressed that Hunt had “unnamed sources”, he called anyone who would be fearful to go on record “a pussy” as well as a slur that gay and lesbian groups did not appreciate.  Sure enough, many national media outlets picked up the story, and a controversy was born.

Afterwards, the discussion turned towards whether the UFC should retain Dana White, scale his appearances down, or obtain someone who is more “professional” to be the face of the company.  There was even talk of White forgoing future video blogs and possibly even cutting down on personal appearances on behalf of the company, though neither of those things really happened at all.  Still, the debate remains: are promoters (and in White’s case, company presidents) like White a good way to put the sport’s best foot forward?  For that matter, does it even matter who is leading press conferences and putting the title belts around fighter’s waists at pay-per-views?

To many, it does.  However, it’s clear that the sport is still growing very quickly (as is the UFC specifically) even though White is the polar opposite of someone like the NBA’s David Stern or MLB’s Bud Selig.  Perhaps the fans of the sport, which is obviously not one that follows traditional rules or has an older fan base, simply don’t care who the president is.  After all, they simply want to watch great fights, right?

Still, is the sport big enough now that it can survive the bad publicity from little controversies like the one over White’s video blog?  Clearly, it is.  When someone like Stern fines an NBA player for bad conduct, criticizing referees or being in a fight during a game, make no mistake about it- it is because he is catering to sponsors and parents who don’t want their kids looking up to players who are thugs or malcontents.  The UFC, as a company that peddles in a combat sport, is in a unique position, as fans almost expect a certain number of fighters to be rowdy ne’er-do-wells.  Also, there are enough class acts in the sport that a few Junie Brownings aren’t going to alter public perception of the sport as a whole too much.

Without question, even someone with the f-bomb-per-sentence ratio of Dana White is much, much better for the sport than the traditional “boxing style” promoters like Gary Shaw of the now-deceased Elite XC.  Shaw wasn’t the only culprit, either.  White may be foul-mouthed and disrespectful of competition and fighters outside of his organization to a fault, but he does not give off the sleazy impression that other promoters often do.  There are no rumblings about fighters who White wanted to stand and bang with one another, and no real concerns about White or any other UFC officials wanting to practically fix bouts in order to build up certain fighters.  Really, those are the only controversies that can honestly hurt the sport.

As abrasive as he can be, White is still a nearly perfect spokesman for the UFC.  The UFC has always marketed itself as being “as real as it gets”, and having a president who pulls no punches and says exactly what he thinks falls right in line with that ethos.  If anything is ever going to get White in trouble, it will be how he tends to take business too personally, not whether or not he lets too many curse words out in a video blog or interview.  White’s poor relationships with rival promoters and his numerous personal feuds with fighters who have fought in the UFC at some point are a much bigger concern, in the end.  Still, it’s hard to really fault a guy who has brought the sport and his company to the level that White has, even if we do occasionally wish there was a “mute” button.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Dana White, UFC