MMAWeekly has a story on an apparently bored Anderson Silva talking about boxing Roy Jones Jr. Well, Anderson himself didn’t speak. His manager Ed Soares made the actual statement to MMAWeekly.
Adam Morgan over at Fiveouncesofpain.com picked up the story and asked how Dana would react to such a statement from one of his champion’s camps.
I think Dana would like that grandstand challenge just fine. He knows it won’t happen, but he’s a promoter, and this is a good talking point for a promoter. It brings him attention and allows him to hype the UFC in a few mainstream press clippings or ESPN website blurbs.
What would be interesting is if the over-the-hill Jones Jr. was savvy enough to agree (and he should be), a great promotional endeavor would be a one-and-one series. White should suggest a boxing match followed by an MMA bout, or more than likely if it’s White talking, he’d (smartly) want the MMA fight first and foremost.
If Dana White really wanted to reach “across the aisle” and bridge the (media manufactured) gap he’d get in bed with Jones Jr’s promotional team specifically. Roy Jones Jr. is an entertainer who knows how to play a heel. At the end of the scenario Jones knows how to play the game and be like Tito Ortiz. Jones will carry the talk, say the words that sell the fight to both sides of the argument, and captivate the media. When the fight is over, Jones will be the one to walk over, hug Silva, and put him and MMA over as being for real. Boxing and MMA side-by-side. No need for competition for anything but PPV dollars.
Of course, that’s where the fantasy ends. It’s great to put these hype quotes and blog writer narratives out there to keep people talking and interested. The problem is at the beginning of the pretend narrative I laid out. Dana White and Jones Jr.’s people would never leave the table shaking hands. Remember how Mark Cuban and Mayweather were talking (JUST talking) about doing some MMA business together? Where was the expected payoff money for Mayweather coming from? Even with the intrigue, the pie isn’t big enough for Mayweather’s $20 million price tag. Let’s pretend for a minute Dana really could realize his dream and become Vince McMahon. Would he really cut in Mayweather for that chunk of change when PPV carriers are getting half of the overall take? That live gate would have to be $40 million for him to even consider the idea.
Dana White is controversial for saying a lot of crazy things, but If he did a lot of crazy things the UFC wouldn’t have the market share it owns in MMA.
Loading ...
I do still love MMA and have...
March 12th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
John,
Nice article. I have one posting tomorrow on the subject as well!
I think that Cuban could be a threat to Dana because he spends money. Look what he did with the Mavs. Cuban has done great things in Dallas, and hopefully is a sign of things to come with HDNet Fights.