White: Miesha and Ronda as expected – they hate each other
At Thursday’s media scrum, UFC president Dana White described relations between opposing coaches Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate on the TUF show…
At Thursday’s media scrum, UFC president Dana White described relations between opposing coaches Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate on the TUF show currently being shot in Las Vegas. TUF 18 will premiere in Sept on FOX Sports 1. The pair will fight at the conclusion of the show, likely in December.
“It’s going exactly the way you thought it would be going – bad,” said White. “Dead serious. Miesha and Ronda hate each other. It’s like, literally crazy drama every day. It’s irritating.”
“It’s Ken-Tito type stuff. I don’t even know if some of that stuff will make TV. It’s bad. Those two do not like each other, and their camps do not like each other, and it is just pure f—ing mayhem every day.”
“(The men and women together) is going well. There are some men and women there who are serious and want to be in the UFC and want to fight for a living, and they’re doing their thing. I don’t know if there’s any romance – I don’t see that stuff till it gets to the end. I know what goes on at the gym, and if I show up at the house, bad s— happened. That’s all I know about.”
Fireworks were to be expected when the UFC announced Miesha Tate as last-second replacement coach opposite Ronda Rousey on The Ultimate Fighter 18. But if Dana White is to be believed, those expectations are already being blown out of the water.
“It’s like, literally, crazy drama every day,” an exasperated White said at Thursday’s pre-fight scrum. “It’s irritating.
“It’s Ken (Shamrock)-Tito (Ortiz) type stuff.”
“I don’t even know if some of that stuff will make TV,” the UFC President continued. “It’s bad. Those two do not like each other, and their camps do not like each other, and it is just pure f–king mayhem everyday.”
Filming for the season, which is the first to feature a co-ed cast in the series’ history, kicked off in late May, and although White was hesitant to discuss particulars, he repeatedly made it clear that this iteration would not be nearly as friendly as TUF 17’s surprisingly cordial pairing of Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.
Without frequenting the season’s house, White is unable to say if the co-ed living situation is sparking any budding romances between the bantamweight castmates, although he seemed pleased by the UFC’s casting decisions thus far.
“[It’s] going well,” White finished. “There’s some men and women there that are serious and want to be in the UFC, and want to fight for a living. They’re doing their thing.”
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, let’s plow ahead and get to some headlines.