ESPN's Dana Jacobson takes on Dana White

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The New York media tour continued this morning for UFC president Dana White. After a morning show appearance on satellite radio, he checked in with ESPN's First Take. Host Dana Jacobson pressed White a bit on his gay slur during his infamous vlog (0:24 mark):

"First thing, it wasn't a gay slur," White said about his use of the word "faggot". "I didn't attack the gay and lesbian community. That's not the way I used it. I apologized and put it behind me."

Jacobson then asked if White would punish one of his fighters for inappropriate language (1:11 mark).

Listen to White on ESPN's First Take:

White seemed to back off on his definitive statements about Chuck Liddell retiring (2:40 mark):

"As far as his fighting career, I don't know. He's 40 years old. (Michael) Jordan turned 40, all the greats have turned 40 and Liddell's there now too."

The Shaquille O'Neal mixed martial arts story was also brought up. Shaq got lots of publicity last week for training down in Orlando. White said Shaq texts him often with requests to fight Brock Lesnar.

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16 Comments

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1 - 16 of 16

1. Posted by Instant Money Tue May 19, 2009 12:18 pm EDT
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Wouldn't be great, to one day be able to watch MMA on ESPN. It could be on ESPN "Ocho". I mean c'mon how do you call yourself ESPN, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, and not broadcast MMA? They could do away with all their poker broadcasting and show some real sports.
2. Posted by icethonk Tue May 19, 2009 12:26 pm EDT
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They actually do, it's just on ESPN Deportes right now. I know it's not as mainstream as ESPN but it hits a large market. I can't imagine ESPN or ESPN2 not picking it up the next time they can. It should be on ESPN and replace some of the other garbage on the network.
3. Posted by odie1941 Tue May 19, 2009 12:28 pm EDT
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Please let Shaq fight Brock or anyone in the UFC for that matter. Let it be a charity event. His hubris and ego would go down in roughly :14 seconds...
4. Posted by odie1941 Tue May 19, 2009 12:29 pm EDT
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Agree #2. How many times can they rerun World Series of Poker, a non sport each day/week/year... 34 times last week alone!
I would rather watch Division III woman's softball...
5. Posted by Laughparty2012 Tue May 19, 2009 12:29 pm EDT
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Shaq vs Lesnar wow a battle of giants would make a nice fat Oreo cookie! Dana should just stop talking the more he does the worse he looks give it up pal we all know what you said and if some one called him that he would go nuts and attack them even tho he isn't supposedly gay but seems queer to me with all the oil he rubs on his head.
6. Posted by zburgerking Tue May 19, 2009 12:35 pm EDT
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ESPN = Everyones Stupid Place Nincompoops
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They show some good dart games one guy was sweating bullets trying to hold his heavy dart.
7. Posted by fightchica Tue May 19, 2009 1:46 pm EDT
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An epithet by any other name is still an epithet.
I'd like to see more MMA broadcast here in Canada too and not just the re-runs.
And he's right it is time for Chuckles to hang up the gloves and look into other avenues of the fight game. I think of the simon and Garfunkle song "The Boxer" when I think of Chuck going back into the octogon any time now.
8. Posted by 2short Tue May 19, 2009 1:50 pm EDT
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Dana White was out of line with his comments in the Loretta Hunt vlog, but when is the media going to pick better candidates to take him to task? Dana Jacobson of the drunken "f**k Jesus" rant at the Mike and Mike roast is the last person in the ESPN world that should be asking those questions, especially since she was given a 100% free pass by the media.
9. Posted by Robert C Tue May 19, 2009 2:14 pm EDT
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Dana White is a genius..like it or not.
He creates all the right buzz at all the right times. He knew exactly what he was doing when he made that vlog. And is desired outcome from it...well, it happened just like he wanted.
He has gotten even more exposure...and even exposed the UFC to many Gay people. Some gay people may now take an interest, good or bad, but the more people interested the better.
There is no bad publicity - Dana knows this.
10. Posted by Caligulus Tue May 19, 2009 2:56 pm EDT
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Actually thinking about it some of the NBA wingers could probably rip in MMA 6' to 6'8" -- it would be like a bunch of super agile doods the size of Sylvia or Kongo.
11. Posted by steve Tue May 19, 2009 4:38 pm EDT
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nutcracker, you're right...Jordan had 11 guys helping him win. Liddell only had himself and a sparring partner.
12. Posted by JoePiervincenti Tue May 19, 2009 4:39 pm EDT
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Nutcracker, no one is comparing Liddell to Jordan. But Liddell has done just as much for the sport of MMA as Jordan did for basketball. Funny thing about MMA fans is, they have a tendency to forget everything good about a fighter once he loses a fight or two. Just like people are doing with Anderson Silva right now, until he shuts them up when he has a classic with Forrest Griffin. Liddell was responsible for more exciting moments during his 14-1 stretch before his loss to Rampage than anyone, and he deserves legendary status for that!
It seems like Bellator Fighting Championship will be on ESPN or ESPN2 next year if it keeps doing well. But no TV network puts anything on if they don't think it will garner good ratings, so let's hope it keeps doing well!
13. Posted by g e Tue May 19, 2009 4:41 pm EDT
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ESPN STILL blabbing about Dana's youtube rant. Next, ESPN with breaking news that the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
14. Posted by AdamG Tue May 19, 2009 8:02 pm EDT
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White's language wasn't a slur, it was insensitive.
Dana can't punish any of his fighters unless they slander him or the UFC.
Chuck Liddell is the closest thing to Michael Jordan in MMA. He'll soon be replaced by GSP and his riddim.
I would love to see Shaq try and fight Lesner.
The Steelers won the Superbowl!? I knew I shouldn't have drank that much during the first half.
15. Posted by Hulkster Wed May 20, 2009 8:39 am EDT
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ESPN = Everyones Stupid Place Nincompoops
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Espn once in a while shows a good game of darts one time a guy was sweating bullets holding his heavy dart.
HULK crush little men for fun
16. Posted by Dave Wed May 20, 2009 11:13 am EDT
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Brag about boxing being on ESPN all you want, right beside the lumberjack 'sports', cheerleading competitions, Scrabble championships, and dog skill competitions. I guess that means those things are bigger than MMA too, right?