UFC: Dana White Says '[Expletive] Jon Fitch'; Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez Could Be Out

Posted Nov 20, 2008 6:59AM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: UFC

UFC President Dana White has confirmed that former No. 1 welterweight contender Jon Fitch is no longer with the organization, and his harsh criticism of the American Kickboxing Academy suggests that other fighters associated with the team -- including Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez -- could be out of UFC next.

White said the American Kickboxing Academy and its fighters are refusing to work with the UFC on issues including rights to names and likenesses for video games. He told Kevin Iole of Yahoo:

"We're looking for guys who want to work with us and not against us, and frankly I'm just so [expletive] sick of this [expletive] it's not even funny."

Koscheck is scheduled to fight in the main event of the December 10 Fight for the Troops, and it's not clear whether this dispute will affect that fight, or Koscheck's future with the UFC beyond that fight.

As for Fitch, White suggested that he should go fight for Affliction:

"Affliction is still out there trying to build its company. Let [Fitch] go work with them. Let him see what he thinks of those [expletives]. [Expletive] him. These guys aren't partners with us. [Expletive] them. All of them, every last [expletive] one of them."

If Affliction could put together a fight between Fitch and Jake Shields, who was EliteXC's welterweight champ before EliteXC went out of business, that would be a big deal: Two of the top five welterweights in the world in Affliction's ring. But I don't see that happening, especially considering that Shields wants to sign with UFC, and that means I don't see any big fights in Fitch's future -- unless he comes crawling back to the UFC.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-20-2008 @ 7:19AM

mike said...

F -YOU DANA WHITE YOUR COCKY ATTITUDE WILL BRING YOU DOWN SOONER OR LATER JUST WATCH, IT ALWAYS DOES.

11-20-2008 @ 7:32AM

panahrad said...

It's a business. Fitch was paid $196K for his loss to GSP. That's a lot of money for someone who doesn't have that much of a drawing power. He got almost half what Lesnar did but he has 1/10th of drawing power and he lost badly. Let's not forget White takes care of his allies. MMA is a tough business and if you want to see UFC survive these tough times you will stop being one-sided with this whol argument.

11-20-2008 @ 7:49AM

Eric said...

As a business owner myself - it really is no way to run a company, but I also must admit that I wish I could handle issues this way ... "Oh, you don't like it? Well "F" you then bi#ch!"

It sounds to me like AKA is trying to show that they wield a big stick, and of course Dana is saying "nope mines bigger".

Michael - If those guys want to have a successful fight career they will work things out with the UFC. Affliction might deliver one or two good matchups for Fitch, Shields, etc, but then what? They likely would end up fighting lesser opposition and not get the credibility they are seeking. At this point, if you aren't in the UFC (every division except heavyweight anyway) you won't be considered one of the best.

11-20-2008 @ 8:08AM

serge said...

This business is not like other. Dana already destroyed heavy weight division. There is no one but Big Nog there to worth mentioning. With his attitue he will just bring what he is scared most of all. Another big rival organization like Pride used to be.,

11-20-2008 @ 9:41AM

Tim said...

I see two problems coming for Dana and the UFC. On the one hand, he has the top ten fighters in almost every weight class (if you count who is in WEC). Dana (and Zuffa) are the Joe and Ben Weider of the MMA World. The Weiders held bodybuilders to strict contracts for years and got away with it because they were the only show in town (save, the AAU/NABBA--which were nowhere near as big in talent).
On the other hand, these guys in the UFC probably all face shortened careers as the sport gets tougher and more competitive--so they are thinking; "I want to Brand myself now when my stock is high." Randy has already done this, but Dana had to allow that in order to make the Super-fight between Randy and Brock Lesnar. There will be some tough times ahead for both UFC fighters and Dana White. I can say this, Dana is a no-nonsense type of guy (although for PR reasons, I think he could maybe limit his swearing, but that is his prerogative). What might happen in the near future is that Agents who represent fighters get involved--these guys are sports lawyers and they could really change this sport--which will have its share of tough growing pains ahead. If Dana wants to make it bigger than the NFL; then he will have to deal with what comes with that kind of monster.

11-20-2008 @ 10:27AM

Brayan said...

No one is here defend the fighters. Fitch and Koscheck are good fighters. Dana Controls the future of every UFC fighter. Unless of course you are the best or have the biggest draw. Good fighters like Florian, Fitch, Koscheck, Jardine, Werdum, and many more are under the blade every fight.

11-20-2008 @ 11:29AM

The UFC is a business just like any other ...

Employers pay their employees based on the demand & expertise needed for that particular position. Fighters are no different. They have other options - They can go to another promotion or quit fighting. Do I think the UFC is being rigid with the exclusivity contracts and such? ... Yes, but they have every right to run their business as they see fit.

This sport is still very young in the grand scheme of things. People want more rival organizations ... OK. That will be great for the fighters initially, but it will cause the sport to have problems when the best fighters aren't well recognized because they are spread out in multiple promotions and they aren't fighting each other. We complain about that problem now, but imagine how much worse it could get.

A UFC monopoly isn't entirely a bad thing.

11-20-2008 @ 12:49PM

TheHulk said...

As a boxing fan all I can say is "I wish Dana ran the alphabet soup that is the WBC,WBA WB-BULLSH*T" .

Is he great for individuals fighters maybe (that's debatable) but without him (Dana) I'm sure, there would be a hough pough of organizations none of them successful.

Which at the end of the day ultimately means these fighters could make a living doing what the love.

Dana has proven to be a very good Manager (rough edges and all). He has taken this "Triathlon sport of fighting" and has brought some legitimacy to it,

11-20-2008 @ 2:18PM

Boxing? I didn't know that people still watched that sport.

Who in their right mind would pay $60 to watch De La Hoya & Mayweather spar like two GQ models for 12 rounds while being forced to listen to Larry Merchant? I'd rather be tortured in an Iraqi prison.

11-20-2008 @ 1:42PM

Scooter said...

UFC wants these fighters likeness in their videogames, but what you dont hear is that these fighters get little to none of the profit from these things. Same in the WWE. Its a "do it or you will be replaced entirely" kind of thing. These fighters arent stupid. Dana looks like the ass in this article.

11-20-2008 @ 2:05PM

exp said...

Hey who wouldn't pay to see Cain Val fight Josh Barnett or Fedor. I mean as a Brock fan, I rather see him get mauled by those three than having Brock hammer fist him to death. Seriously though. Jon Fitch shouldn't have gone public with this thing this early. He should've tried to talk to White before bad mouthing UFC. I am sure he is done. He was overpaid in my opinion as he couldn't draw. He still got paid as much as Randy did in his fight with Lesnar.