DANA WHITE IN JULY PLAYBOY

The Man Behind the UFC Discusses The Ultimate Fighter Reality Show, Why He Credits Senator John McCain for the Existence of the UFC and Why the UFC Crushes the WWEUFC President Dana White is about to add two new pros to his stable of fighters on the June 24th season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 3, the popular Spike TV reality series which features16 fighters who live together as they prepare to compete for UFC contracts. White will then return to television on August 17 as host of The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback. The success of The Ultimate Fighter has other networks such as Fox Sports, BET and Oxygen scrambling to develop fight-related series of their own. White is proud of the reality show and how it has turned the UFC around: “We got on TV and suddenly people were watching mixed martial arts without realizing they were watching it because they got caught up in the story lines,” said White in Playboy’s July 20Q (on newsstands Friday, June 9th).
Following are selected quotes from White’s 20Q, conducted by Playboy contributor Jason Buhrmester: On Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter: “You also get to learn about the characters and see that these guys aren’t a bunch of f*cking gorillas who just rolled in off a bar stool. You can see how hard they train and that they have real lives and families.”
On Senator John McCain’s opposition to the UFC: “I’ll tell you what about Senator John McCain. He’s a boxing fanatic and he went after the UFC, and thank god he did. I credit Senator McCain with our having this sport today. The bottom line is this sport needs to be regulated…If it weren’t for McCain, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
On how Mike Tyson would do in a UFC fight: “He would get destroyed. I know it. He’s been getting destroyed in boxing lately. I’m not trying to slam Mike Tyson, because I’m still a huge fan. I like real fighters.”
On why he didn’t become a pro boxer: “I found out early in my career that I didn’t have it. I was about 26 or 27 when the window started closing. For a long time it really messed with me that I hadn’t fought a pro fight. But to fight pro is a lot of work, a lot of money and a lot of sacrifice. I didn’t take that step. I always felt I didn’t have the balls to turn pro.”
On why he hates golf: “I happen to f*cking hate golf. Golf is the most useless f*cking sport of all time. It’s a waste of f*cking time. It’s a waste of f*cking land. It’s a waste of everything. Homeless people are sleeping in the streets, and these rich dicks are out there golfing. Give me a f*cking break. They ought to build houses for the homeless on all the golf courses.”
On why the UFC is better than the WWE: “...Because it’s real. I think the WWE is fantastic. It’s amazing when you’re 12 to 15 years old. But when you hit 16 or 17, you realize it’s fake, and you want to see something real. I was a huge WWE fan as a kid. I got to an age when I got tired of the sh*t. It was just acting.”
On why he doesn’t want his kids to be fighters: “I love my kids so much. Do I want them to be fighters? No way. But I don’t want them to be football players, either. And I don’t want them to stub their toes. I don’t want them to get hurt at all. This is how f*cked up I am, that I sit around and think about this, but I dread the day when they get into a fight at school. I have two boys, so it’s inevitable, but I dread that day.”
On the most vicious thing he’s ever seen during a UFC fight: “Nothing really makes me cringe. I love fighting. But when Frank Mir broke Tim Sylvia’s arm with that arm bar, it was pretty crazy. Hell, we have four f*cking DVD’s of Ultimate Knockouts, so there have been some awesome knockouts.”On what makes a guy want to become a UFC fighter: “It’s the competition. These guys are real athletes and real fighters. It doesn’t matter if they used to be schoolteachers or accountants. They love to compete. It’s great when you’re part of a team and you run out onto the field and the crowd is cheering. But when you walk into a f*cking arena with 17,000 people and your music is playing and everybody is looking at you and going crazy, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s a high you can’t even imagine.”
On whether someone will inevitably get seriously injured or killed in the UFC: “I fear it. I really do. To be honest, I don’t know how I would deal with something seriously happening to one of these guys I f*cking love and care about.”