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By: Bjorn Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
If you haven’t heard by now, Tito Ortiz will NOT be fighting Chuck Liddell after all.
What about Dana White’s tweet telling us otherwise?
He lied to you. “Get over it,” he dismissed to Jim Rome on ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning. He didn’t stop there.
"The people who feel like they've been lied to? Too bad…Get over it…oh, well." (note: Quote Abbreviated; QA).
Basically he clowned us worse than Anderson Silva did Demien Maia. (Ugh, don’t remind me.) Not only did he ruthlessly lie to the media for the last couple of weeks, but even worse he had us, the fans, spitting out his falsities for him.
“The UFC deliberately went on the record...spreading messages they knew to be false. That means they actually incorporated the unwitting press into their plans to present an untrue narrative to fans...despite numerous published reports that the [UFC’s] information...was false.
...What is the problem with lying to the media or fans?
The answer is that it severely undermines and erodes the foundation of honesty that guides the relationship between media and organization. The UFC is free to withhold whatever information they choose, but knowingly telling falsehoods to select members of the media...is [in effect] using the media to cannibalize itself.”
Rather than simply responding “no comment”, he sent the media and fans on a fool’s errand. How many people did you correct recently, by saying “No. They’re definitely putting on the Tito versus Chuck fight. Dana confirmed this on his Twitter.”
If there was a media-police, we’d all be accessories to the fact.
Originally we attacked MMAWeekly for pumping out what we believed to be misinformation on their part. We were wrong. Its identity has now reared its true ugly head: disinformation on the UFC’s part. This was not a case of a perfunctory journalist organization disinterested in insisting on credible sources; this was intentional misrepresentation from the highest level.
This brazen show of deceit and manipulation violates all the rules of media and fan engagement.
What was Dana’s line of reasoning?
“It's a reality show," he said. "First of all, Spike paid for this show. For me to go out and release this information, it's insane you can't do it. It would be like finding out what happens on 'Survivor' after they film it."
I respect that Spike paid for the show, but at some point in time—like two days ago to be exact—you would have had to reveal the true match up to the ticket-purchasing Canucks anyways.
How could Dana be so myopic? So two episodes of season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, were worth your “word?” (And by the way, the Survivor analogy is a poor one. We didn’t find out who won TUF 11, just that this season will play out like last season—which did fine with ratings—when it comes to the coaching squabbles.)
Protecting The Ultimate Fighter show and telling the truth was not in any way mutually exclusive. If he thinks so, then that’s a microcosm of a much bigger, more profound problem.
As Thomas continued in his article, he noted that “despite the basic conflicts of interest...White has become both the promoter and de facto Public Relations arm of the UFC.”
What frightens me is how unrepentant Dana is about the matter. I mean, by his own admission he presented us falsified facts and slapped a “truth” sticker on top of it.
I had become enamored with Dana’s straight-shooting ways over the years. His approach was downright refreshing. But after this fiasco it begs the question, have his anti-establishment ways finally caught up to him?
Dana White is a megalomaniac; he must control every detail to satisfy his ego. A polished PR firm—which the UFC could easily afford—would have handled this mess with ease.
The bigger point here is that the mainstream media is the gateway to a mainstream audience. You piss off the mainstream media, and they’ll lock the gate and throw away the key.
I still dream of the day that we have ESPN 8, The Ocho. But instead of dodge-ball tournaments, they’d pump out MMA fights with analysis shows. But why stop there?
MMA is a synthesis of three fighting styles: submissions, takedowns/positional control, and striking. Why not show Brazilian Jiu Jitsu matches from Demian Maia’s career? Brock Lesnar’s legendary battle with Stephen O’Neal on the college wrestling mats? Or even the filth-flaring-filth pugilist, James Toney’s boxing match with Evander Holyfield?
Can the UFC do this without ESPN? I doubt it. They’d be doubling their duties. Not only would they have to compete with mainstream sports, like basketball, baseball, and football but they’d have to compete with the sports media behemoth that is ESPN.
When ESPN:60 chastised the chances of Dana’s competence to elevate the sport to a prime time level, I scoffed.
Unfortunately, now Dana has me revisiting that rhetoric.
Questions, comments? Email me at Bjorn.hansen@fiu.edu
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