Bill O’Rielly is at it again. He has returned to bash the sport we love with an uneducated bias that could hurt Mixed Martial Arts. A while ago, Dana White and Rich Franklin joined Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor. That video can be seen here. Throughout the great video, Dana and Rich tell Bill about the safe side of the sport and argue about its safety. Bill keeps to his stance and doesn’t waver at all. Dana states several times that there has never been a death or serious injury in the sport in 12 years (the video was taped a prior to the recent death of Sam Vasquez).

In his new video, Bill again states that this sport is brutal, and that CBS is lowering their standards to put it on television. He says that the move is strictly a move for money. I will let you watch the video and make your own decision. There are many people around the world that have the same views as this man. These are the ones that make it hard to sanction the sport in other states. If there is a black cloud following the sport, it is caused by people with this opinion.

The crowd in Montreal had just welcomed another Canadian in the cage and was eagerly awaiting a showdown. Instead, three rounds of potential fighting turned into a 15 minute stall tactic riddled with boos from the crowd and taunts in the cage. British Columbian fighter Kalib Starnes tried to do everything but engage with his opponent, Nate Quarry, during their UFC 83 bout. In the final minute of the fight, an extremely frustrated Quarry began taunting Starnes with his rendition of the running man and started blindly punching the air as he covered his face as if he were Screech from Saved by the Bell. As the final bell did ring, name calling between fighters and their opposing corners rounded out what was to be an unforgettable night for many at the Bell Center in Montreal. So what went wrong?

Let’s take a look at some of the possible scenarios.

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Dana White is a hero to most. Just look at what he has done for the sport of MMA, completely bringing it out of extinction and into popular existence. It is because of him, the hard core MMA fans can quench their thirst with 2 to 4 big events a month. I am one of Dana’s biggest fans, but lately it seems that maybe he has lost sight of his vision. Every other week there is something being said, from fighters speaking out against the UFC to Dana putting down other organizations, leaving you to wonder if Dana believes that MMA is apart of the UFC or if this the UFC is apart of MMA.

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The UFC is in dire need of a few top notch heavyweights to step up and make a run to the title and they are adding to their talent stockpile by using their famous reality show. The MMA reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” in its 8^th season will look to be showcasing lightweights and heavyweights. Rumor has it that if you just happen to be a talented MMA fighter, and in the heart of Red Sox Nation the first week of April, you could run across a TUF tryout. UFC.com has an advertisement for the eighth installment of this show on their homepage. It provides a link to an application.It is no secret that the UFC has a current shortage of big guys. It was no more apparent when they recruited WWE star Brock Lesner and began advertising him more than they did Wanderlei Silva. The UFC hurt themselves when they couldn’t get past contractual issue and sign Fedor. Not only did it not put one of the top fighters in the cage, but also caused problems with their big champion. Most fans are beyond sick of hearing about this, and it also gives Dana haters more fuel to the fire.

The television show “The Ultimate Fighter” has done great things for the sport. Fighters such as Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Joe Stevenson, Marcus Davis, and Rashad Evans came from just the first two seasons. There are more than 15 fighters on contract with the UFC that were a part of this series. This show is something that the other organizations want, but do not have.

Arguably the weakest division in the world’s strongest MMA organization may get a boost in talent from the show. If the show does indeed center on heavyweights, it could bring in a handful of fighters that would add depth to the depleted division. Constant exposure from the cameras will give the world enough time to fall in love or hate a fighter. This love hate relationship between the fans and fighters is one of the things that draw viewers. If you hate Matt Hughes you will purchase a PPV in hopes that he gets knocked out and if your favorite fighter is stepping into the cage, you will buy it to cheer him to victory.

This show has meant more to the UFC than ever imagined. The 7^th season will begin April 2^nd with a fight your way in mentality. 32 fighters will be cut in half, as they fight to earn their spot on the show. Every season their have been drama and special moments that made each season unique; Chris Leben spitting on another’s bed or the constant drama between coaches BJ Penn and Jens Pulver. I look for it to continue in April. This may be the most talented group of fighters on the show yet. It will showcase All-American wrestlers, Champion Jui-Jitsu practitioners, and fighters from the elite teams such as Team Quest. This was a brilliant idea and will continue to stock up the talent for the UFC leading up to the much needed TUF 8 season.

During the UFC 82 post-fight press conference, Dana White talked a bit about how the other organizations like HDNet Fights and the IFL don’t compare to the UFC in terms of love for the sport of MMA. The quotes from White on Five Ounces of Pain look something like this:

“The IFL was gonna take us out last year and they’re offering stock options and other stuff to all of the fighters,” White continued. “Some guys we had long-term relationships with left and went there. A year later it’s gone.

… Now the big scary guy was Mark Cuban. Mark Cuban is coming in. Mark Cuban doesn’t give a [expletive deleted] about mixed martial arts. Mark Cuban has dumped millions of dollars into HDNet and he wants subscribers. He’s a businessman. He’ll build up the subscribers and sell it to Comcast and get out. I think he’s passionate about basketball (but) I don’t think he’s interested in mixed martial arts and he’ll be onto the next business venture.

Now CBS is getting involved. CBS bought ProElite, which was going out of business and about to fail. And they bought them and now they’re going to give them a shot.”

While Dana White has every right to express his opinion, as Sam Caplan also mentioned in the article, “but does White have a plan to keep the talent pool going if these organizations fail?” asked a commenter. And it’s a great question to ask. Where will all of the fighters go to put food on the table? Will the UFC expand to hold 36 fights a year to do so? Will the WEC finally act like a minor league farm team to the UFC? Not likely. Maybe White should take a step back, look around, and realize all of the untapped talent that the UFC has yet to even consider if he cares so much about the sport and keeping alive past these eight years. Maybe it’s a good idea to work with your competitors for a little while to keep MMA going strong, Dana. After all, it’s how other similar organizations stayed alive.

John Philapavage had mentioned to me in the past that Vince McMahon knew how to do business in the pro wrestling world by keeping his competitors alive. Then he’d buy them and their fighters up to keep his organization strong. Now you can watch WWE weekly. It’s a great thing for pro wretsling, but what about MMA?

After all, if all of the organizations die out and the UFC is the only show left, do I really want to watch MMA just once a month? I don’t care that Dana White is getting rich by developing the sport, I’m worried he wants to get rich by killing it now. Perhaps those rumors that Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, is looking to sell to McMahon could be the one thing to save the sport? It’s going to be a interesting year for MMA in 2008.

MMA Fightline is reporting that Dana White does have plans to re-sign, not resign, well-known fighters Andre Arlovski and Josh Koscheck. Did the recent EliteXC/CBS deal scare Dana White into re-signing fighters that he may have dropped earlier this year? After the news broke that EliteXC has temporarily filled the void of MMA on prime time television, other organizations like the IFL are praising Gary Shaw and his organization for making a move in the right direction. Other guys, like Dana White, are probably not so happy with rival organization. Here’s the full short article.

Amid confusion about the status of UFC fighters Andrei Arlovski and Josh Koscheck, Dana White has recently announced the he plans to resign the two of them. Arlovski’s career has been in limbo since UFC 70 when he last fought to a snoozer decision win over Fabricio Werdum. The Belrusian fighter’s next fight is this Saturday against Jake O’Brien.

Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck who is also on the UFC 82 undercard will also be resigned as well.

“When I want a guy, I’ll get it done,” said Dana White.

About Arlovski, Dana White had this to say, “Andrei’s a guy that I want, so I think we’ll get it done,” he said.

I guess White wanted to get it done now before Arlovski gets a bid from another organization after his final fight on Saturday night. Nothing would make White and the UFC look worse than losing a fighter to the newest contendor on television, EliteXC. It’s bad enough that Arlovski has been patiently waiting to fight again after his decision win over Fabricio Werdum during UFC 70. Although Arlovski did manage to grab the decision over Werdum, fans were not happy with the fight overall as boos echoed throughout the arena in Manchester.

I expect to see other fighters to be re-signed by the UFC before they can be scooped up by rivals EliteXC, IFL, and M-1 later this year. With the IFL premiering their new format tonight on HDNet Fights, MMA fans may finally have a choice when it comes to watching MMA on a weekly basis. Bad for the UFC, good for everyone else.

I feel bad for what seems like a constant barrage of criticism against the guy, but Dana White is asking for it. In an ESPN.com article regarding Tank Abbott’s recent loss to EliteXC’s up and coming slugger, Kimbo Slice, White talks a little about the recent EliteXC production and one of his fighters from the renaissance days of the UFC; Tank Abbott.

UFC president Dana White watched the Slice-Abbott fight Saturday after taking in the Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor fight.

He prefers that Abbott call it a day.

“I think the whole thing was a farce,” White said of the EliteXC promotion. “I love Tank. I have nothing but respect for him; he’s always been good to me. But I don’t want to see that again.”

White would like Abbott to concentrate on the book and his next logical out-of-the-cage career move.

Currently, Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn are the four entrants in the UFC’s Hall of Fame. Mark Coleman will be inducted at UFC 82 on March 1 in Ohio.

White said he has a plan for when Abbott announces he is done gloving up that will honor the colorful brawler, whose record is an underwhelming 9-14 but who undeniably helped grow the sport out of its infancy and into young adulthood.

“Tank Abbott,” White said, “absolutely will be in our Hall of Fame.”

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Amazing things can happen when you combine money and ego. In a recent interview Dana White called Calvin Ayre a “criminal” and compared the billionaire owner of BodogFIGHT to Brewster from the movie Brewster’s Millions saying “he’s like that guy in Brewster’s Millions who is trying to spend all his money in 48 hours.” Well Mr. Ayre has fired back on his blog “Ayre Waves” making White “an offer he can’t refuse.”

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