Cagewriter - UFC

It's all quiet on the UFC front when it comes to a public statement about Rampage Jackson's arrest. Slight correction on that, it's quiet with the sports and MMA media.

UFC President Dana White (pictured) did make his first comments on the Rampage situation on KLOS' Mark and Brian Show.

He appeared on the Los Angeles morning show and boy am I glad we heard this...it was an absolute abortion.

I understand that FM radio is appealing to a broad audience but the guys didn't ask about Jackson's Tuesday arrest until a caller brought it up at 4:52 of the interview. Here is what White said:

"I'm actually here right now, I'm in Southern California. I've been dealing with this all day yesterday. I haven't really gotten to the bottom of this yet. I don't know what I'm going to do about it yet. Last night when he got out, Rampage is very religious...yeah, I'm dealing with it."

CLICK BELOW TO WHITE'S COMMENTS ABOUT RAMPAGE AND THE WORST RADIO CONTEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE MEDIUM (thanks to KLOS-FM):

The hosts did ask if Rampage would be fined:

"It's not really about a fine," said White. "At the end of the day, we care about these guys. A lot of these guys are our friends. I want to find out what's wrong with Rampage and get him taken care of."

As I was listening, I figured let's cut Mark & Brian some slack, maybe they didn't know about the Jackson incident. That was wrong. One of the hosts, explained immediately after White's response that Rampage had been arrested the day before. So they knew about it and didn't ask!!

The event happened in Los Angeles, THE SITE OF THE SHOW!! And if a story is on TMZ.com, any FM show worth anything is going to ask about it. We know that White was on to promote Ultimate Fight Night 14 but you can at least ask about the incident. Even the non-sports, non-MMA fan's interest is piqued when they hear about an athlete eluding the police and being arrested at gunpoint. White answered two questions and the show moved on from the topic 66 seconds later.

Make sure you listen to the end of the clip, where Mark & Brian commit a huge radio faux pas. They ask for random callers and decide that White should ask the callers trivia questions. White asked who the UFC light heavyweight and lightweight champions were. Three callers drew a blank and another hung up. Mark & Brian were so flustered and embarassed that they closed the interview by promoting this weekend's "Ultimate Fighting Challenge 86" and then called White, "Jeff."

Mark & Brian have been huge players in the radio business for a long time, this may be proof that old radio guys are often lazy radio guys. The lack of preparation was embarassing.

You can listen to the entire White interview here. He also talked about recently winning $375,000 at the blackjack tables.

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10 Comments

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  1. urwrecked
    1. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    Fine Rampage?? Why?? He only got 225K to defend his title on a PPV card as the defending champion. Griffin actually got more of a base salary at 250K as the challenger... Why dig into his pockets anymore?? Seems like he already got fleeced on his PPV Payday. No wonder MMA guys want to get into boxing...
  2. Jax
    2. Posted by Jax Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:26 pm EDT

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    First of all. I dont know if fining Rampage is the way to go or not but, at the end of the day Dana White, the UFC and everybody involved has a duty to protect its image. It is the fastest growing sport around and they dont need the negative press. You know for sure if this happened to an NFL or MLB player there would be consequences to pay for. As far as boxing goes, it doesnt. The sport is no longer what it was. I'm not sure where you get your information but, I have not heard of an influx of MMA fighters looking to box. That's why they are in MMA.
  3. Pramit
    3. Posted by Pramit Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    Maybe this is why Dana White won't talk to the hardcore MMA blogs and covets the mainstream media so much. He knows shows like this lame FM show will give him a free pass on the difficult issues.
    Keep White honest, Steve!
  4. urwrecked
    4. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    #4
    You are asking Steve to keep Dana honest?? That is as likely as a hoe telling her pimp to go stand on the corner and take on for the team. You never see him get on the UFC for anything do you?? He is either on the UFC payroll or a total MMA sycophant..
  5. urwrecked
    5. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    Jax, A. Silva was calling out R. jones for a boxing match. Dana White threw it under the bus, Arlovski wants in. The fat dude that just got beat (forgot his name, but he beat some top level MMA heavies before).. The list goes on. Pavlik got 1 mil for the first fight as the challenger against Taylor. So I guess I get my info. from a place you obviously dont know about... Read the fighters purse monies and tell me who is better paid.. Pavlik got more than three times the money Griffin did (that includes Griffins bonus money) for challenging for the title... zzzzzzzzzzzzzap!!!
  6. g e
    6. Posted by g e Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    Boxing purses are better for the few guys at the very top. For the rest, nope.
  7. urwrecked
    7. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    Oh really g e?? Did you see what the co main fighters got?? The undercard fighters??? It was paltry compared to any PPV boxing card across the board. I dont get it. The UFC claims to be making money hand over fist, and boxing is this dying relic that pays much better. I like MMA, but I know what purse monies are and it is a rather large discrepancy..
  8. WILLIS76
    8. Posted by WILLIS76 Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:45 pm EDT

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    RAMPAGE TOOK ON IRVINE POLICE ,AND NOW
    KIMBO VS MIAMI VICE
    http://www.kimbofansite.com/
  9. Rob M Kookooberry
    9. Posted by Rob M Kookooberry Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:59 pm EDT

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    Whats kimbo got to do with anything about this ?
  10. Rob M Kookooberry
    10. Posted by Rob M Kookooberry Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:59 pm EDT

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    Rampage didn't make any money on the fight remember he bet his purse on himself. Thats enough to make anybody crazy.

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