Dana White: "My Job Isn't The Amateur Level"
by Kelvin Hunt on Oct 29, 2009 1:00 PM EDT
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PrintI posted the video of Dana White speaking about the state of amateur MMA, and wanted to touch on a couple of things. I know we have several amateur fighters that post here on the site, and I've LOVE for you guys to chime in with your own experiences and insight Dana White speaks on the safety element of amateur MMA:
Guy gets knocked out, he's not on 60 or 90 day suspension. He can [expletive] fight again next weekend. That's amateur MMA? You would think they would look out even more for the amateurs. It is a zillion times safer to be a professional.
He makes an excellent point here. I know here in North Carolina there are tons of shows happening all the time, some sanctioned and some unsanctioned events happen on the reservations in the western part of the state. It would be relatively easy for a fighter to get knocked out, and then find a show to fight on the next week or so. This state is wide as hell! That is unless the promoters actively seek to find out if and when that fighter fought last etc. I'm not sure if that happens, and if it does, how often it happens. I know fighters that post here on the site talk about last minute switches in opponents, wild weigh-in's, and a host of other stuff that happens on the amateur level. Here Dana speaks on the promoters, and what amateur MMA should be:
Amateur fighting should never be about profit...ever. It should be about safety of the athletes and teaching these athletes how to become professionals.
I agree it shouldn't be about profit. According to White, he wants the amateur program to be ran by the U.S. Olympic Committee. I don't know if that will ever happen. It would be great if it would, but until then you need these local promoters to put on these amateur events. There is no UFC without these amateur events in my opinion. However, on the flip side of that, you can't expect these local promoters to go out and do all the work it requires to put on a good local show for free either. So until the amateur system is worked out, it'll be up to the fighters to weed out the snakes and slimballs that are into amateur MMA for the wrong reasons. It doesn't take long for a promoter to catch a bad rap if they don't do what they are supposed to do.
Dana is quick to point out that he doesn't believe it's his job to get involved with amateur MMA. It may not be directly, but he'd be a fool if he doesn't realize he could have a huge influence. If it's not his job, then who's job is it?
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I don’t get his attitude towards amateur MMA. It can only help his business when it comes to growth and development. The TUF show is practically an amateur farming system in itself.
As far as an amateur system for MMA? I don’t see it unless they’re wearing some form of head-gear to protect themselve BUT it would make grappling and bjj submission attempts really awkward. After all, why risk getting seriously injured as an amateur if you’re not getting paid? Then again I don’t know too much about the boxing or wrestling amateur system but I do know that there’s a lot of sacrifice involved with little to no support in America.
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he's president of the ufc, not cut-throat
It can only help his business when it comes to growth and development
not necessarily imo, if something bad goes down in the amateur divisions which is much more likely, clearly from what he said, then that reflects badly on mma and in turn the ufc!
whilst saying all this though, a lot of todays proffesionals came from the ameteurs i imagine. if there’s no ameteurs, where do we get proffesionals from? i would think there has to be some legitimate stepping stone, hence the existing amateurs…
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by RearNakedPoke on Oct 29, 2009 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
?
I don’t get his attitude towards amateur MMA.
Most of his concerns are legitimate…for every good amateur promoter out there….there’s like 2 bad ones…also, amateurs here have specials rules like no kicks to the head etc…
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Bullshit Like This
http://www.georgiafighters.com/exclusive-interview-with-anthony-poppy-colon-after-gwcc-fights/
Happens at least once a year that I hear about. The onlt thing that can be done for now is for Althltic commisions not to grant these fools promoters licence.
by Erich Vowell on Oct 29, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t blame him, really. This is a guy who is trying to support serious fights with serious fighters, not some dude who decided to get in a cage. For the most part amateur MMA isn’t regulated, by athletic commisions or the less honest promoters, so there is a real risk of a fighter to get injured in a bad way. Besides, when the UFC has the option between getting an Anderson Silva fight, and a Joe Smith fight, then why would he waste his time?
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is there a list that promoters can check to see who got TKO/Ko’ed?
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by Kelvin Hunt on Oct 29, 2009 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions
i guess the promoter calls the commission and tells them who is goona be on the card. At which point the commission will be able to tell the promoter wheather or not they are suspended, and allowed to fight or not.
i saw a guy fight one week when i was cornering a friend, get b*tched at by the promoter for a fight he had the following week (the promoter just happened to have come to that event), the guy fought that next week….and not a month later that same guy fought on the same card I did. seriously.
3 fights in less than 6 weeks in a sport where injuries are common (it’s not like the relative lack of injury in amateur boxing…amateur mma is rife with injuries, especially the kind that would make a fighter pull out from a future bout. it’s ridiculous. period. it’s also disrespectful to your opponent who’s been prepping for 2 or 4 months to be ready and you take a fight 2 weeks out and get hurt in one of the thousand ways that can happen in mma even at the amateur level.
NC does a better job of keeping track oddly enough, but the business of seeing guys with 3 fights booked over 2 months and other stuff i’ve seen is a disservice to other opponents that are banking on that fight…not booking 3 fights or 4 fights and then when they’re hurt or injured, or just plain tired backing out a week out and then the other guy who did what he should have and prepared for one fight gets screwed.
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by theworldsoldestsport on Oct 30, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
Yea
I know of a fighter that had a fight on one night…and even before that fight…had another one scheduled a week later…
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by Kelvin Hunt on Oct 30, 2009 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions
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