UFC President Dana White recently appeared on ‘In-Depth with Graham Bensinger’ to discuss the safety issues in the UFC and expressed his opinion that is actually much safer than most sports, including cheerleading.

Graham Bensinger: In terms of safety, how would you compare the UFC to boxing and the NFL?

Dana White: In terms of safety, how would I compare the UFC to badminton or cheerleading? In the eighteen year history, even back in the crazy days when you were talking about groin shots and head butting and everything else, there has never been a death or serious injury in the UFC. I don’t know what other sports can say that. You know how many girls get busted up and hurt in cheerleading ever year, you know? There aren’t many sports…I’m not gonna go out and bash the NFL and all these other sports, I like the NFL. They built an amazing business, but if you line the UFC up against other contact sports, you would be…My son plays football. Now, my son did not get this from me, I’m not a sports guy. I’m a fight guy. I don’t care about any other sports. The NFL is fun to watch on TV, I bet on some games and I watch stuff…I’m not a sports guy.

My son likes football, I would prefer he train in fighting and do that than play football.

Graham Bensinger: Really?

Dana White: Oh hell yes. You know how many guys I went to school with that played football blown their knees out, shoulders, had to have all these surgeries. You know how many guys I know that fight and our forty now and still in great shape and everything else? I don’t know…the thing is for me with football, yeah I guess if your gonna make it to the pros, if there’s a guarantee that your gonna make it to the pros…the thing about fighting is I believe that every man should teach their son how to fight. Every man should teach his son how to fight. And even if he’s not gonna become a professional fighter, I don’t think, but he’ll know how to fight the rest of his life. It’s with you forever. Football isn’t with you the rest of your life.

[h /t bjpenn.com]