UFC president Dana White was not happy following his fight promotion, Dana White’s Contender Series event on Tuesday. Those who tuned in to watch the fights witnessed three of the four bouts on the card end in decisions.
During the event’s post-fight press conference, White went on a rant explaining what’s expected of athletes that appear in his promotion. It was reminiscent of his motivational speech during The Ultimate Fighter 1 asking those participating if they ‘wanted to be a f**king UFC fighter.’
“We go out, and we put in all this time and effort into finding the most talented, unsigned guys in the world,” White said.
“I don’t give a sh*t what you did yesterday, two years ago, and throughout the rest of your career. Right here. Right now. Show me. Show the media members that are here who you are. Show the rest of the world who you are. Who are you?”
The Dana White Contender Series is the biggest feeder organization to the UFC. White typically hands out multiple UFC contracts following DWCS events. On Tuesday, he handed out one.
“Every night is not going to be your night,” White said. “But Tuesday night f**king better be. Tuesday night better be your night. “This is a huge opportunity for these kids.”
“Even when the fights were over, nobody was overly excited. Nobody thought they delivered tonight. Nobody was acting like they felt like they were on to bigger things. I didn’t feel that at all,” White said.
White continued his criticism of the performances on Tuesday. He didn’t mince words when it came to his expectations.
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“You know what you’re coming here for. You know what you’re showing up here for. You know what the show is all about,” White said. “More than anything, forget about me, do it for yourself. Do this for yourself.”
Dana White’s Contender Series is probably the fastest way for a fighter to land on the UFC roster. White laid out the perks of putting in a good performance.
“If you really want to be in the UFC, and you want your name out there, and you want people to know who you are, you want to walk in and be able to get sponsors, and all of the things that go along with professional fighting, perform on Tuesday night,” White said.
“Show us what you’ve got. Show us who you are,” he said. “You’re either good enough to be in the UFC, or you’re not. If you are, show that to us.”
Dana White goes on epic rant following lackluster DWCS event