UFC president Dana White has always seemingly tried to limit friendships with his employees.
Of course, that isn’t always possible in business, and White has had close relationships with a few of his fighters over the years – some good, some bad.
Some fighters like Forrest Griffin, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell were given cushy UFC jobs upon their retirement. More outspoken fighters like Jon Fitch, Tito Ortiz and others who have engaged in public battles with White – well, not so much.
White wears dual hats as both promoter and owner of the UFC, and he seems aware that the line between friendship and business is a dangerous one.
White went on TSN’s "Off the Record’" with Michael Landsberg on Thursday to wear his promoter hat and talk about UFC 194.
White told Landsberg that thinks of himself as a "bells and whistles" guy who merely pairs the fighters in the cage. It is up to them to determine the outcome. But every so often – twice, actually – White has taken a step back and worried about the fighter as both an employee and a good friend.
"Me and 57,240 people in the arena were obviously shocked," White said in reference to Ronda Rousey’s upset knockout loss to Holly Holm early last month. "I'm never shocked at somebody losing, but it's the way that she lost that was so shocking. Obviously, everybody is saying, 'He's devastated.' He's this, he's that. Listen, I always call myself the bells and whistles guy. We put on all the bells and whistles, we promote the show. They step in the Octagon and they determine whatever happens.
"But in the history of this sport, there has been two people, Chuck Liddell that I was very close to, and Ronda Rousey I'm very close to. She's one of my very good friends, so to see her lose that way, yeah, it was tough."
White was one of the driving forces in Chuck Liddell’s eventual retirement in the summer of 2010. "The Iceman" was still a huge star at the time of his retirement, but he was visibly deteriorating by the time he met Rich Franklin at UFC 115. After suffering a devastating knockout to Franklin in the waning seconds of the first round, White pleaded with Liddell after the fight to step away, and he did.
Rousey, 28, will definitely not be having that talk with White – at least not presumably anytime soon. Yes, White was concerned for his friend, but “Rowdy” is still plenty young, and just as popular as ever.
White has said that an immediate rematch with Holm is all but inevitable. In fact, White revealed that he and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta met with Rousey just a few days ago and the former champ admitted that she was just plain ‘exhausted’ heading into the fight with Holm.
Numerous personal issues and overwhelming obligation surrounded Rousey in the buildup to UFC 193: her mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, slammed her head coach in the press; she had a mountain of media obligations; she had a newly-formed relationship with UFC heavyweight Travis Browne getting scrutinized; and to top it all off she was fighting an undefeated former world boxing champion in Holly Holm.
In hindsight, it was a recipe for disaster.
"I've talked to her almost everyday after the fight and when she sat down with me and Lorenzo a few days ago, she said, 'I was exhausted going into that fight. I was exhausted mentally, physically, emotionally,'" White said. "She had a lot of personal things going on, too, with her family. It all...I don’t know. She’s gone into every fight and beat…”
He paused, “Cat Zingano is one of the best fighters in the world and she beat her in 14 seconds. I don’t know.”
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
