By Today in Point/Counterpoint, we take at a look at the state of the UFC as the industry leading organization fends off challenges from rival promoters, the difficulties of running an MMA promotion during a global pandemic and accusations of insufficient compensation and protection for its fighters. Our experts are leading voices in the mixed martial arts world who hold strong beliefs about the UFC and its standing in the world.
Point: The UFC is the world’s best mixed martial arts promotion that has never been stronger and only an idiot can’t see that
Dana White, UFC President: Listen up, you fucking donkeys. Everybody knows that the UFC is the most popular sport in the world. Stand at an intersection where one corner is a UFC fight, one is school children playing stickball, one is a pickup basketball game with a flat ball and the third is a dead race horse. Which corner are you looking at? That’s what I fucking thought. Fighting is in our blood. It’s who we are. It’s as natural as eating, breathing and turning beat red at the slightest provocation.
The UFC is thriving to levels never before seen in human achievement. Our Pay Per Views are selling at their highest rates ever, we’re making money hand over fist even during a pandemic all thanks to my leadership and we’re ready to smash gate records for our upcoming event in Texas where we’ll be selling a ticket for every seat and a ticket for the lap of every person who gets a seat. I’ve made $17 million for the UFC since I started writing this, but you don’t hear these pussies in the media reporting that, do you?
The UFC is a rocket ship and there’s nothing that’s gonna stop it from taking off, so strap the fuck in.
Counterpoint: There’s a pandemic on and this isn’t the NFL, dummy, you need to be realistic about your expectations
Dana White, UFC President: Where do these assholes get off demanding more money when they get in the cage to beat the hell out of each other? Do they know how lucky they are to even have this opportunity? In case you haven’t noticed, the whole world has been shut down for a year now, and it’s about time you media jackasses and the afraid-to-fight cowards on the roster start showing a little gratitude that only we had the guts to pretend it wasn’t happening and book enough spare bouts that we still meet our ESPN obligations when six fights go down to COVID.
What, you think you’re the next LeBron James? Nobody knows who any of you are. Nobody cares about the UFC. We run this business as a charity. I can barely afford to eat with how much of my blood, sweat, tears and cash goes into every fight in the Octagon. And do I demand praise for that? No. I ask for nothing except undying fealty from fans and press, fighters who do exactly what we tell them for however much we want to pay them, $5 more per event every time Conor McGregor fights and praise.
I’ll tell you what, these fighters are LUCKY they aren’t employees, because if they were, I’d fire their asses for asking for more money in these trying times, and then they wouldn’t have access to the excellent insurance that employees receive. Could you imagine how hard this sport would be for the fighters if they had to pay for their own insurance while training in a sport where every day of camp poses the risk of a seriously catastrophic accident and there’s no guarantee you’ll get to fight and make a paycheck at the end of it even if you do everything right?
That would be a fucking nightmare.
So, there you have it, two compelling cases from two passionate debaters. Where do you stand readers, is the UFC an unstoppable goliath ready to make the world bow at its feet, or a small scared child in a world full of bullies and haters? Let us know in the comments!
