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Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:52 pm EST

White fires back at rival

By Kevin Iole

Ever since he became a mixed martial arts promoter some 13 months ago, Gary Shaw of Elite XC has been exchanging harsh words with UFC president Dana White.

Shaw suggested in an Internet column written by Steve Cofield that the UFC's dominance of the industry is about to end.

"It was easy for UFC before there was competition," Shaw told Cofield, a Las Vegas sports radio host. "There was no other choice in the past. Once you have choices, there's a problem. You can't stuff a pay-per view down the throat of the fan every month if there are other choices out there. I don't know what their real pay-per-view numbers are, but I guarantee you they're not doing the 700,000-800,000 pay-per-view numbers now. And you don't hear them bragging about it."

Shaw also said the UFC has to pay its fighters more because Elite XC was competing for them. He specifically mentioned Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua and Dan Henderson.

But White fired back at Shaw Friday in a conversation with Yahoo! Sports, portraying Shaw as a money grubber who only began promoting MMA when he was failing at boxing.

White said the UFC did better in 2007 than it did in 2006, contrary to Shaw's assertions, and said Elite XC is no threat to the UFC.

"Gary Shaw is (an expletive) loser," White said. "We beat our pay-per-view numbers from last year. Do you hear that? We beat our pay-per-view numbers from last year. We just don't brag about it because we don't talk about our business in the public.

"And if we were getting competition, it's not coming from Elite XC and both of the people who are watching their shows. This guy is a low-level bottom feeder. He didn't like MMA a few years ago, but when he finally couldn't make money at boxing any more, he came over to this sport to try to leech money out of it."

Share your thoughts on the pros and cons of Elite XC and the UFC and let us know if you side with Shaw or if you think White is right. Also, tell us if you think Elite XC will close the gap on the UFC in 2008 or, if you think any promoter will be able to do so.

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160 Comments

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  1. nickmorrow2003
    1. Posted by nickmorrow2003 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    Put their champs in the cage against each other, that'll setlle things.
  2. tall27yrold
    2. Posted by tall27yrold Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:54 pm EDT

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    put their champs in the cage against each other, that
  3. christiancardplayer
    3. Posted by christiancardplayer Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

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    Put their champs in the cage against each other, that should solve any questions as to who the best is.
  4. Goose
    4. Posted by Goose Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:11 pm EDT

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    dana white is the man and elite xc will never come close to the ufc the only guy worth watching is elite is kimbo slice and soon enought he ufc will own him to.
  5. Alex Gunz
    5. Posted by Alex Gunz Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:48 pm EDT

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    can you say Vince McMahon vs Ted Turner the rebirth?
  6. arge
    6. Posted by arge Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:57 pm EDT

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    The only way Elite XC or any other MMA company will have success is if they have top name fighters throughout multiple weight classes. UFC is still the top company and will always have better fights in which people will pay money to watch on PPV and or live in person. The only promotion that has the money behind it is HDNets because of Cuban. WEC which is owned by Zuffa is probably the biggest smaller affiliation where they have top talent. Elite XC and other companies have a few fighters, but without facing top tier talent, they are nowhere near the competitve level of a UFC fighter because of the talent pool there.
  7. arge
    7. Posted by arge Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:57 pm EDT

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    the only way elite xc or any other mma company will have success is if they have top name fighters throughout multiple weight classes. ufc is still the top company and will always have better fights in which people will pay money to watch on ppv and or live in person. the only promotion that has the money behind it is hdnets because of cuban. wec which is owned by zuffa is probably the biggest smaller affiliation where they have top talent. elite xc and other companies have a few fighters, but without facing top tier talent, they are nowhere near the competitve level of a ufc fighter because of the talent pool there.
  8. martyaa
    8. Posted by martyaa Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:09 pm EDT

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    I only watch Elite XC because I have Showtime. I certainly would never buy an Elite XC PPV if one were available. They have partnered up with Strikeforce too? The Show at the playboy mansion was the worst fight card ever. As far as Elite XC champions fighting UFC, The Elite XC champs are tier 2 fighters at best. The Lawler Ninja fight was a battle of a former UFC chump knocking out a flabby ex Pride fighter with no lungs. Hey guys, I am all for up and coming organizations but Elite XC is grabbing up the garbage and marketing fights like Tank VS Kimbo to get non fans to watch. By the way I have Showtime because I like Dexter. That chick that plays his sister is fine. The only thing Elite XC has is Gina Carano, she's finer than frog hair too.
  9. Alex Gunz
    9. Posted by Alex Gunz Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:48 pm EDT

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    The only way Dana would lose this fight is if he couldnt keep his top fighters in check.
  10. Random Task
    10. Posted by Random Task Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

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    It seems clear that Gary Shaw is a money grubbing opportunist. This may be a good thing for MMA. The way industry work in this country is through competition. Dana White is not the man. He needs to figure that out soon. He could make himself a figurehead of the sport for all of time, but instead he is looking at a washed-up version of himself in Gary Shaw and calling it names. Mr. White would take valuable lessons by looking at the lives and decisions of the guys that brought the NFL and NBA to their respective great successes. I think Dana is micro managing a bit, which works in times of crisis, but they are far from crisis now. In the end I hope the fighters get put in the best fights that they can be in for each other and for the sport regardless of company.
  11. wassabi
    11. Posted by wassabi Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:40 pm EDT

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    All elite XC has are a bunch of scrubs! fighters that couldnt hang with ufc top fighters. nick diaz is the only still descent fighter they have. Kimbo is a joke and couldnt last a round with any top 10 ufc heavyweights.
  12. Justin B
    12. Posted by Justin B Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    Shaw is a nobody if he thinks he's going to get any kind of recognition is because of the stupid comments he makes... name two fighters elite has... anyone?
  13. Mastermind
    13. Posted by Mastermind Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    Why Hate. Obviously EXC cant compete with the UFC, but theres nothing wrong with having another promotion out there. It just means more fights for fans of MMA. Frank Shamrock and Kimbo are worth watching, plus some of the events are free if you have showtime. Another thing is Dana White should stop being so stubborn and be willing to do cross promtions. Everybody wants to see the Fedor/Randy fight but Dana rejected it. Im sure the UFC will make plenty of money off that fight even if they have to share a little of the profit.
  14. JE
    14. Posted by JE Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    Any company who puts major fights on cable tv for free (Spike TV) is definately going to be the fan favorite. The UFC has the best fighters and seems to have at least some respect for its fans. There isn't anyone right now who can really challenge them. The only thing that could improve the UFC is if Joe Rogan wasn't allowed to talk again, ever. He's the John Madden of MMA.
  15. JE
    15. Posted by JE Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    any company who puts major fights on cable tv for free (spike tv) is definately going to be the fan favorite. the ufc has the best fighters and seems to have at least some respect for its fans. there isn't anyone who can really challenge them right now. only thing that could improve the UFC is if Joe Rogan was never allowed to talk again, ever. he's the John Madden of MMA.
  16. Nick M
    16. Posted by Nick M Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    HAHAHA I love how he said they don't talk about their business when the UFC and dana white constantly does. The UFC is always gona be on top for one important reason. They put the best fighters against the best fighters. How many times have you seen chuck liddell, randy coture, GSP ect. in a mismatch? Other MMA leagues as you would call them probably will most likely play it like boxing. Puting the best fighters against people they can beat. UFC isn't in any trouble.
  17. clempene
    17. Posted by clempene Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:26 pm EDT

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    shaw is just trying to get some free advertisment for elite xc by starting a fight with dana and to try and get people talking about a rivial between elite xc and ufc . but it will never happen. dana
  18. Sandstorm
    18. Posted by Sandstorm Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:16 pm EDT

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    $$$$$$, It's all about Money, Dana White Has Plenty of It and backing him up. Plus he has put together an Elite class of strong fighters. Elite XC? No one! The only future competition to UFC is WEC and Dana has a piece of that. Enough said!!!!
  19. V
    19. Posted by V Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:53 pm EDT

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    UFC all the way.
  20. LOS
    20. Posted by LOS Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 pm EDT

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    Comparing Elite XC to UFC is like comparing the XFL to the NFL...
  21. Richard M
    21. Posted by Richard M Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:13 pm EDT

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    Like him or not Dana White has made a name for MMA. He's brought both talent and fans to a sport that woulden't have made it in America the way it was going five years ago.
    Gary Shaw wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for Zuffa and Dana making mma huge. The paper-view numbers for UFC are huge and I do believe that what Dana has done for the sport in just a few years should not go unrecognized. To beat out the majority of WWE paper-views is no joke. Vince McMahon has basically owned paper-view T.V for years, and now there is huge battle for where your money is going to go. I will watch both UFC and Elite XC, but if had to pay anymore than 10 bucks a month for showtime I would drop it, But I will always shell out the 40 bucks a month for UFC!
  22. oaktownfanclw
    22. Posted by oaktownfanclw Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:43 pm EDT

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    I do not even think Dana White should comment on what Shaw says. Elite XC is proud of hiring guys that have failed in the UFC. They are not even on the same playing field.
  23. matt m
    23. Posted by matt m Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT

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    This is a battle of K-Mart vs. Wal-Mart. I think we all know who won that one. Elite XC could only sort of pose a threat if they held a fight the same night as a UFC pay per view had big name fighters and if it was free to watch i think thats the oly way they could even impact them. I don't think Dana White should have even responded to this guy that just shows that he's getting under Dana's skin a little ( but most likely a very little). I agree with the other guys lets give him some time to try and recruit fighters and then let the fighters decide who's better. I'd pay fifty bucks to see that one. Then just as a bonus let's see Dana and Shaw go at it we've seen White train before when he was gonna fight Ortiz bet he'd try it again now that's a pay per view.
  24. G Mac
    24. Posted by G Mac Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:10 pm EDT

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    I agree, Elite XC is not even close. UFC sealed he deal when they bought out Pride. That was their only competition. You can't even compare the two. It's like a comparing a semi pro football league to the NFL. Whether you like Dana White or not, you can't deny his business sense, and what he's done for the sport.

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