Why is there so much hate for Dana?

[LethalStriker]

I like Dana just for the fact that he isn't a phony, what you see with him is the real him. If you're full of crap then he's going to call you on it.

[tapper]

Originally Posted by gmunit

i just get the feeling he isn't trying to promote MMA, but rather "ultimate fighting"

agreed, i think in his mind mma only matters as long as he is involved, once he's gone he wont care about the future of mma.

[Afro]

I dont like Dana, but I do believe hes done great for MMA and I dont mean good, I mean great but at the same time.. recently I feel that hes gone over his head and I just hope that most of the things he plans on doing doesnt happen because IMO itll hurt MMA.

Personally, Dana has been great for MMA but I think there could be better

[Ioxus]

Personally, I think Dana has been quite good for MMA. As others have said, he has brought it to the mainstream in the US with TUF on Spike, and was gererating HUGE yearly increases in PPV dollars before that, as well as after. That money and attention means better fights for us fans and more money for the fighters (though often still not enough for the mid-tier guys, IMO). Can he be abrasive? Sure. Cocky? Definitely. Is he good at running Zuffa? Absolutely.

All that being said, some of what he wants to do would make Zuffa more profitable, but be bad for MMA as a whole. For instance, buying Pride, even if it was run separately, would essentially create a monopoly and fighters, fans, and MMA as a whole would suffer. Competition, as in any other market, is key to healthy growth, innovation, and improvement.

Overall, I like Dana. I like what he has done for MMA, and I respect his business skills.

[Dr. MMA]

Originally Posted by chungt79

I really hate when people say he is a great busnessman. It certainly looks to be the case when you look at the success of the UFC but the way he conducts his interviews, he doesnt seem intelligent at all. He is a great promoter, but i would never say he is great or even a "shrewd" businessman. He tried to take credit for the rules that were already in place and whoever came up with the idea of launching the TUF series pretty much brought MMA into mainstream. I am sorry but there doesnt seem to be a single intelligent bone in his body. He acts very tough now because UFC is flying high and he is trying to live up to his own created hype of "not yout typical business man" persona. I personally dont like him very much because of his BS and some ridiculous things he says. But then, I guess al the promoters do that

how is he not a great businessman? This is what he was able to do...he saw that ufc was going nearly bankrupt at one point and wanted to re-estabilish it. Since it was a big move to invest 2 million to buy them out completely, he got his sources, fertita brothers to buy it and they installed him as the president. Also, he may have not created all the rules but he did finetune into a respectable sport... something it wasnt before. It was considered a barbaric bloody violent sport that no cable tv or ppv wanted on air and it was ultimately getting banned by a lot of state commissions.

With dana white as the figurehead, he knows that ufc is successful but does he stop there... no... he tried to go worldwide, england, canada and maybe more. He is trying to get mma to a whole new level. When ortiz left after ufc 51, dana never wanted to do business with him again but he put his personal feelings aside and knew tito was marketable and re-signed him and re-ignited the tito/ken fued into the highest rated TUF (TUF 3) and the second highest grossing UFC PPV (UFC 59).

He is blunt but so are a lot of businessman, but you know what you see on camera is himself, he doesnt pretend to be someone else, and thats something you got to respect. It is true that he's making UFC go much ahead of all the promotions (i.e. pride) but thats a part of success. Pride needs to continue pushing themselves and see why UFC is getting much more successful than them and capitalize on that. Dana saw a lot of potential in a failing UFC and invested in it and is giving you what it is today ... you cannot deny the tremendous impact it is having on other sports either (i.e. boxing and wrestling).

[Metalhead]

There's really no reason for all the Dana hate on message boards. If it wasn't for him, there'd be fewer and fewer message boards dedicated to the sport. I think alot of people around here just like to go against the grain to be cool.

[Warchief]

I like dana...if wasnt for him and fertita bros. ufc will shrink down to the tube...seag sport is already facing near bankruptcy,not until dana and his guy's step up.....and look what happen to ufc now? is bigger and better than before.

[lilp86]

Originally Posted by Metalhead

There's really no reason for all the Dana hate on message boards. If it wasn't for him, there'd be fewer and fewer message boards dedicated to the sport. I think alot of people around here just like to go against the grain to be cool.

I agree man all the haters need to realize without Dana the UFC would prolly still be doin 3-4 shows a year if any there would be no Pride IFL EXC ect on TV ,because of what Dana has done for the sport u cant turn on the TV now a days without seeing MMA and i give him alot of the credit for that

[BigBanda]

Who cares, I mean I have no prob with Dana. He is a bit of a douche sometimes but it's just his goofy persona. Anyways Dana could care less wheter he is hated or loved. If he is trying to be loved widely he is in the wrong business, the top businessman in almost every org always take heat. They must do what it takes to bring their respected company to the top and at times be ruthless. The old phrase, "only the strong survive" is still the absolute truth especially in business/marketting.