Story Time
On a warm, sunny day in late April of 2011, I was an excited 16 year-old-boy headed to his first ever UFC event. It was the biggest in the promotion’s history, UFC 129. What was even more exciting was that the day before I was given a promise by a man I looked up to, Mr. Dana White.
The day before at the UFC Fan Expo, my little brother asked Dana White if we could meet our idol, the UFC Welterweight Champion and Canadian icon Georges St-Pierre (video).
Dana White told my brother and I that we couldn’t see him after the weigh-ins, but that we would get to meet GSP after the fights on Saturday night. I was ecstatic.
Fast-forward to Saturday night. Just before the main event, we receive a text from a UFC PR person to text them our seat location. We text them where we are, making sure to not get it wrong. GSP retains the welterweight championship, and we are excited to finally meet our hero.
Twenty minutes pass, and no one from the UFC has shown up. The arena security kicks us out of our seats and we exit the Rogers Centre. After repeated attempts to contact the UFC PR employee, we are left wondering what happened. Why we didn’t get to meet our idol?
Dana White did not owe us anything, and he was being very gracious in even promising us a chance at meeting GSP. If this was one incident, it’d be easy to overlook. However, this is far from the only time Dana White has promised me something as a fan and failed to follow through.
A Recent History of Dana White’s Promises and Guarantees
Guaranteed Title Shots/Super Fights
In the UFC, you are never guaranteed a title shot until you are standing across the cage from the champion. If you are an MMA fan, you are never guaranteed a super fight until both fighters have entered the cage.
Here is a quick list of the guaranteed title shots and super fights in which Dana White used the words ‘promise’ and ‘guarantee’ in the past 3 years:
– Promised a title shot to Lyoto Machida after Ryan Bader knockout
– Promised that GSP vs. Anderson Silva would happen
– Guaranteed that we would eventually see Jon Jones fight Anderson Silva
– Promised Alexander Gustafsson a title fight in 2014
– Anthony Pettis promised title fight after WEC title victory
A small, but very important list, especially since the president used the words ‘guarantee’ and ‘promise’ explicitly. These fights might have fallen through due to outside influences and injuries, but a promise and a guarantee are suppose to be kept. Here is a quick look at the future title shots and super fights that Dana White has promised and guaranteed:
– Rory MacDonald will receive guaranteed title shot in Canada
– Cub Swanson has been promised a title shot with a win over Frankie Edgar
– Dominick Cruz has been promised the next shot at TJ Dillashaw
*THE MOST IMPORTANT PROMISE*
How can the president of the UFC guarantee something like that? I understand that he is a promoter, but when you continuously fail to follow through on your promises, it ostensibly proves that your word means very little.
History of Broken Promises
This is in no way a complete list of every promise that Dana White has ever made to the fans or to fighters, but it is a quick look at how often we are lied to as fans by the president of the company.
– A “Major Announcement” will take place at “The Time Is Now – No
– A Knockout on TUF 19 That Beats Uriah Hall’s – No (A great knockout, but it wasn’t even close)
– Promised a Big Return To Calgary – So far, no luck
– Promised Olympic style drug testing for Belfort – No (Has only been tested once)
– Guaranteed 13 MMA Events in Brazil for 2014 – No (Only 7 events took place)
– Promised MMA Sanctioning in NY in 2012 – No
– Promised that TUF 17 Will Be Amazing – Yes, that happened.
– UFC will come back to Ireland – Yes, you’re on a roll!
– Promised an event in the Philippines – Delayed for another year
– Promised UFC 168 would be bigger than UFC 100 – No
– Knows for a fact GSP will return – To be determined
Dana White has done a ton for the sport of mixed martial arts. He has propelled it to heights that make it competitive with other major sports. He seems to be an all-around fun and caring guy who has done more for his fans than any other president, general manager, or commissioner in a comparable position.
I just ask one thing of Mr. Dana White. Please start using the following words: ‘hope,’ ‘plan,’ and ‘looking to’. I know you are a promoter, and guaranteeing something sounds more decisive than hoping for it, but it’s becoming a reality in MMA that when you are promised something, you should not get your hopes up.
Injuries already do enough damage in disappointing fans when they are promised something. Please stop doing the same with your words Mr. White.
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