White: My job is get you to question who wins
Dana White: “My job is to get you to question who you think is going to win this fight.”
The reason you have a fight is because you don’t know who is going to win. If the fight outcome is a foregone conclusion, what’s the point in watching? UFC president Dana White spoke recently about fight promotion with life advice huckster Tony Robbins.
When we put together fights, my job – because everyone is going to have an opinion right away saying, ‘This guy is going to win!’ – My job is to get you to question who you think is going to win this fight, said White, as transcribed by MMAjunkie. So I need to gather all the information I can get on both guys and then I need to sell you on why this fight isn’t going to go the way you think it’s going to go.
White offered as the highest example then undefeated women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm as the highest expression of the art of fight promotion. The fight at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015 was ridiculous; Rousey was a -2000 favorite. And of course the impossible happened.
I would say my best one is Holly Holm versus Ronda Rousey, said White. I did a really good job with that one. When that fight came out the odds were incredibly huge that Ronda was going to win that fight. Nobody gave Holly a chance. I said, ‘Ronda’s never fought anybody like this. Holly striking, her head kicks, her this, her that.’ Even Joe Rogan said, ‘There’s no way Holly Holm wins this fight.’ Not only did we sell the fight, but Holly Holm won the fight.