UFC boss Dana White picks his ultimate fighter
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The UFC's big cheese picks his ultimate UFC fighter and says who he wants Conor McGregor to fight next
Before UFC Fight Night in London on Saturday, the BBC MMA Show podcast spoke to UFC president Dana White to get the latest on his plans for world domination and find out which elements of different fighters would make up his perfect MMA contender.
Once a fighting promotion where no-one was really sure of the rules, now a multi-billion dollar business - the UFC has been going for 25 years but has come a long, long way since brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitto bought the company in 2001 and installed Dana White as president. The brothers sold the UFC to WME–IMG in 2016.
“We’ve come so far. When we bought the company the UFC wasn’t allowed on pay-per-view. Porn was on pay-per-view, but the UFC was not allowed - that’s how far we’ve come,” says White.
“We’ve become not only mainstream, but very global. We’ve done fights all over the world. Not only have we done fights in the biggest arenas around the world, we’ve broken records in most of those arenas.”
Dana White’s ultimate UFC fighter
As Dana White has probably spent more time octagon-side for UFC fights than anyone on the planet, the BBC MMA Show asked him to create his very own ultimate fighter - an MMA-version Frankenstein’s monster - from the 25 years of the UFC. Here’s who he picked:
Fists
I would take the fists of Chuck Liddell. Chuck Liddell had knockout power in both hands. He never wanted to go to the ground, he just wanted to stand and knock you out.
Feet
I’ll take Mirko Cro Cop’s feet. He had a head kick that if he even grazed you, he would knock you out.
Chin
This is probably going to surprise some people but if I had to pick a chin, I would probably take Jon Jones.
Jon Jones fought all the best at 205lb, which was the most dangerous weight division in the history of this sport.
He fought of all the best on the way up and defended his title against the best. He was never rocked or fazed by anyone’s punch, kick, knee or anything
Brain
I’m going to give the best fight IQ to Conor McGregor.
McGregor is very, very smart when it comes to fighting - he’s very good at breaking down his opponents. He basically tells you how he’s going to beat them. Not only does he tell you exactly how he’ll beat his opponent, he’ll even pick the round sometimes.
Heart
There’s obviously a lot of guys and girls who have fought in the UFC who have a tonne of heart, but if I had to pick one guy or girl right off the top of my head, I’d take Frankie Edgar’s heart.
He’s been around for a long time. Never, ever has he fought in his own weight class. The kid should have been fighting at a much smaller weight. He was a champion at 155lb, and he’s fought the absolute best in the world. I’d take his heart.
Mouth
I think would take Michael Bisping’s mouth.
Michael Bisping talks so much trash. He’s very smart, funny, calculated in the things that he says. I’d go with Bisping.
So what next for UFC?
Dana White has big plans for MMA's biggest show.
“Over the next five years, we’ll continue to move into territories that we haven’t been. Think about this: when I was growing up, kids were doing karate or taekwondo – this is now the martial art that men, women and children take all over the world.
“Think about how big the NFL is in the United States and how big soccer is around the rest of the world - the most famous athletes to ever walk the face of the Earth have always been fighters.
"Everybody knows who Muhammad Ali is, everyone knows who Mike Tyson is, everybody knows who Bruce Lee is - Bruce Lee died in the early 1970s and children still know who he is! As human beings, we’re fascinated by who the toughest people in the world are.”
And when grilled about the future of the UFC's biggest name, White wasn’t shy about when he wants Conor McGregor back in the octagon.
“Hopefully we’ll see Conor McGregor back in either August or September.
"We’ve got to see how things play out in that weight division. A lot of things are going happen in the next several months in the 155lb division."
"The winner of Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov [at UFC 223 on 7 April] is who I’d like to see Conor fight next."
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