Randy Harrison
While UFC President Dana White has been exceedingly harsh on EliteXC during the company's short existence and after it's demise earlier this month, it would be wrong to suggest that he is firmly against any and all MMA promotions. He just holds them up to higher standards.
White was asked a question about Strikeforce, whose NBC late-night show drew a record-high of 1.1 million viewers recently, and in the answer he praised the regional promotion for doing things the right way.
"I think that's awesome. I think that's great. Strikeforce is a good show. They've been putting on good fights for a long time. They run a great business. It's good. That's a good thing. It's a positive thing."
"These guys run a real promotion," added White. "They know how to run a promotion. They don't try to tamper with fights. They don't have (expletive) goofballs from backyard barbecues fighting. It's a good thing. I hope they do ten million viewers next week."
Some might be prompted to think that this is merely White enjoying the success of a promotion that is on a smaller level than the UFC and that once they get to being viable competitors with the UFC, the gloves will come off. However, I'm not so sure.
I firmly believe that White's agitation at organizations like EliteXC comes from the years of hard work that he has put in turning the UFC from a nearly-bankrupt, underground entity to a mainstream juggernaut that continues to grow and thrive. He doesn't want to see MMA cast in a negative light, as it was repeatedly by EliteXC in the past few months.
Many feel like White is against MMA and only for the UFC. I would agree to an extent because he would obviously have to be for the UFC because he's in charge of the company. I don't believe that he's completely against MMA though because he's repeatedly shown respect to companies like Strikeforce.
He knows that organizations that run legitimate shows and positive shows for MMA means more new fans that will likely sample the UFC product. White may be fiercely protective of the UFC and of the sport, but he is not a fool. More money for MMA means more money ultimately for the UFC, which I think even White's detractors would have to agree makes smart business sense.
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