Dana White recently shot down requests for UFC to do a co-promotion with any other MMA promotion out there. His argument was that the co-promoting would be redundant considering the best talent inevitably makes it to the UFC.
Famous former UFC referee John McCarthy debunked Dana White’s claim that the best athletes end up in the UFC. ‘Big’ John took an example of Fedor Emelianenko, who is often mentioned in the conversation for greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
UFC really changed the game for mixed martial arts. Since UFC president Dana White took over the organization, they have successfully brought the attention of many combat sports fans
During his appearance on a podcast with Paddy Pimblett, Dana White expressed belief that UFC athletes are more superior.
However, John McCarthy, who currently works as a commentator at Bellator MMA refuted his claims
“Sorry, it’s already been proven that that’s just not true, and there’s a lot of guys out there that… look, this guy’s good, he deserved to be fighting against guys in the UFC. But he decided, I don’t want to put up with some of the things that are there, and decided, ‘I’m not going there. I’ll continue to fight, and I’ll continue to fight where I want to fight and I’ll make my money this way,’ and they have.” McCarthy said in an interview.
He added, “I’m not saying [White is] wrong. But to say that all the good ones are going to end up here anyways, that’s not true. He’s not lying, but he’s not looking back and saying that one, this one [didn’t go to the UFC].”
Fedor Emelianenko’s name is up there when talking about MMA GOATs. The former PRIDE champion was undefeated for 10 years from 2001 to 2010. He currently competes in Bellator MMA and is planning to retire.
Back then, Dana White was yearning for Emelianenko to sign an exclusive contract with the UFC. However, the negotiation fell apart and Emelianenko never joined the UFC.
The two have had a contentious relationship over the years with Emelianenko going so far as to say that White doesn’t care about people.