White: I’m not f@$%ing around – take offered fights or leave

UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez has star potential, in a league that is woefully short of them at the moment. However, when it was perceived that he turned down two fights in a row, he was released. Eventually, there was a reconciliation and he now fights Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 228 on September 8, 2018. However, during a recent appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, White said a fighter who isn’t willing to fight anyone offered should go elsewhere.

You get into these situations where you get these guys that don’t want to fight certain people and if you don’t want to fight certain people, this probably isn’t the place for you,” said White, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. I’m looking for people that want to be world champions that want to f***ing fight the best in the world, and if you’re not that guy, then there’s plenty of other places where you can go and make money. This place isn’t for you.

That’s what I’ve run into with a few guys. You’re going to see more of it. There’s more coming today. I’m not f***ing around anymore here. If you don’t want to fight, don’t sign here. If you want to hand pick fights, don’t sign a contract here. This isn’t the right place for you.

Very rare that this happened in the old days. Guys came out and fought whoever they had to fight next and that was the way it went. These new guys come out and want to hand pick fights and do this stuff, that’s not gonna work for you here.

You’re here to fight and you’re here to become a world champion. If that is not what you are here for, this is not the place for you. You can go many other places. They’re paying guys great money out there right now and a lot of times you can go out there and make more money than you’re making here. Knock yourself out because that’s where you belong. You don’t belong here.

It has long been the case in the UFC that the consequences of turning down a fight are not good. Now it’s explicit. Really, really explicit.