On Chael Sonnen
“I’ve spoken to him a couple of times. I saw him at the opening of the UFC gym in Los Angeles and then I talked to him yesterday I think. He’s in a really good place. Listen, there’s more to this story than meets the eye and it will all come out in the athletic commission hearing.
“People look at me and they say, ‘You’re the commissioner of this thing.’ No, no, no. The way that this works is, the athletic commission oversees us. Every time these guys step in and compete, the athletic commission drug tests them and everything else. Everyone thinks that ‘Dana White has the commission in his hand,’ but the commission doesn’t give a shit what I think, what I have to say — nothing. You’re dealing with the government. That’s like thinking that Dana White can tell the IRS what to do. That’s never going to happen.
“So, Chael is gonna have to go in front of the commission and we’re going to have to wait and see how this thing plays out.”
“Do I think he is innocent? Like I said, here’s the deal, there’s more to this story than people understand and I’m not getting involved in this thing. It’s Chael, his people and the athletic commission that are gonna have to work this thing out. There’s more to this story.”
On UFC policy concerning PEDs
“Every year we bring these guys in for the summit. We sit these guys down, the DEA comes in and educates them about what can happen. What you guys have to understand is this isn’t like the NFL where you got busted and now we’ve decided to suspend you for four games. The government comes in and takes away your ability to make a living for a whole year.
“Then, on top of that, the money you made in that fight, they’re gonna fine you. Many guys already have that money spent. This test came out a month later. Chael Sonnen, I’m sure has been out making some moves, plus he has to pay taxes on that money. And now he has to pay a fine and everything, you know — the public stigma — what more could you do to a guy? What more could you do to a guy?”
On Athletic Commissions
“Here’s the thing you guys have got to understand. I’ve been in this business for 10 years. I’ve been in the fight business since I was 19. There’s a lot of stuff you guys don’t know. Every day, when my big toe hits the floor and I get out of bed, that s— happens. I have to deal with it. It’s no different than any other day. Am I disappointed? Yes, absolutely… The big misconception is that Dana tells the athletic commission this and that. I don’t tell the athletic commission jack s— The athletic commission could give a flying rat’s a*s what I think or what I have to say. They oversee me. They tell me what I’ve got to do. I have to sit back now and see what’s going to happen.
“Every other sport has a commissioner. The NFL has a commissioner. When something goes wrong he comes in and says here’s what’s going to happen. The government tells my fighters what’s going to happen to them. Every time these guys step inside the Octagon and compete the government is overseeing this. They drug test them. They do all the medical testing. They do everything. They tell me what’s going to happen. The government will come in. They’ll test these guys. You get yourself busted for taking whatever it was you were taking, marijuana, or some illegal substance. Here’s what I’m going to do (if I’m the commission). I’m going to take away your ability to work for a year. You can’t make a living for a year. Then on top of that I’m going to make you pay a fine from this fight you were having. Most of these fighters-that money that they had from their fight-that’s already spent. I’m going to buy this and I’m going to do that. Plus, the tax on that money. They’re going to get taxed on that money and they have to pay that fine. You don’t realize how devastating it is. They’ve already been punished. They’re down and out. What am I going to do? Go over and kick them in the face? What else is there to do? I’m going to fine you and suspend you for another three months? The government is the commissioner!”
On Josh Barnett
“You take a guy like Josh Barnett. This guy’s tested positive three times and denies everytime that he’s taken steroids, okay? He comes out with an interview last week, basically saying, ‘I don’t care about anybody else; the only person I care about is myself. I got some fans out there and thanks for following me or whatever, but I’m not fighting for you. I’m fighting for me and I’m doing everything for me.’
“This is a guy who single-handedly put a company out of business — single handedly put a company out of business for doing what he was doing and has zero remorse for it. Couldn’t care less. ‘I don’t care that you bought tickets to that fight and were planning on going. I don’t care that Fedor flew all the way in from Russia to fight me and trained and spent his own money to do this. I don’t care that this company, Affliction, believed in me and was allowing me to make a living and I put them out of business. All I care about is me.
“Those are the guys that I have zero tolerance for. And that’s why he’s not in the UFC and never will be.”
On ex UFC heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee:
“We have the ability to cut a guy when he loses a fight. He lost that fight [against Mike Russow], but the biggest problem I have with Todd Duffee is his attitude. You guys don’t see it. You don’t know. I deal with tons of guys. We have hundreds of guys under contract and I’ve had thousands of guys under contract over the last ten years and Todd Duffee, to me, doesn’t seem like he wants to be in the UFC. He doesn’t like being in the UFC.
“Let him go fight in the smaller organizations and work his way back up, if he even wants to work his way back up and get back into the UFC. He just came off a knockout. He got knocked out in his fight and he’s got a horrible attitude. He’s got a horrible attitude. He can still go back and train and fight in these smaller leagues and work on his skills and his attitude.”
On Efrain Escudero:
“I think that Efrain got comfortable. He came off the show and he was doing all these huge media tours throughout Mexico and had Bud Light stamped all over him and wasn’t performing. When you come out and perform the way he did AND you don’t make weight, it just shows that you’re really not that serious about it. You’re not taking this as serious as you should be.”
