The much-anticipated UFC superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz has been set for October.
Barely four weeks after St-Pierre strolled through a unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields, UFC supreme Dana White signed, sealed and delivered the biggest fight in welterweight history.
Typically, it was done with the minimum of fuss. No elaborate press conferences, no publicity stunts, no to and fro between the opposing camps. White, always open to engaging with his fanbase, gave a brutally simple message via his twitter account; “It’s on!!!!”
Dana White: “The fans wanted it”
His reasoning, much like his approach, was remarkably simple; “the fans wanted it”. And that was that. The fans wanted a big fight; he gave them a big fight.
In the UFC if you’re the number one fighter in the world, then you fight the number two. There’s no cherry-picking an easy title defence.
If you want to be the best, then you’ve got to prove it. Or you’re out.
White, known for his colourful use of Her Majesty’s English, has a mantra with which he greets potential fighters; “In the UFC , we like fighters who f*ckin’ fight. If you don’t want to fight, then go home”.
It’s an attitude that puts boxing to shame.
In two weeks’ time, the heavyweight division in boxing will finally have the big showdown the fans have been craving: Haye vs Klitschko. The build-up has been protracted and at times descended into farce.
It started with Haye ambushing Wladimir on the escalators at Waterloo. This was soon followed by Haye sporting the infamous t-shirt depicting him holding aloft the severed heads of the Klitschko brothers at a press conference – a stunt the Ukrainian described as “unspeakable”. And then we had Wladimir’s open challenge to Haye via Youtube.
There was a lot of talk, but still no fight.
As Haye readily admits, the fighters have spent over two years arguing over everything from purse splits to ring entrances. With such a fragile build-up, few of us will believe that the fight is actually happening until the opening bell sounds on July 2nd in Hamburg
But even Haye vs Klitschko pales into comparison with the struggle to get the two best welterweights in the world to share a ring.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao; the best fight we’ll never see
Boxing fans have been imploring Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather to prove once and for all who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
A fight between these two icons would produce hundreds of millions in gate receipts and pay-per-view buys. But even the dollar signs aren’t enough to dissuade the two camps from unnecessary posturing. The closest we came to a fight breaking out was in 2009, only for Mayweather’s camp to insinuate that Pacquiao’s legendary conditioning may be the result of illegal substances.
The fight now seems more unlikely than ever with Mayweather now choosing to fight Victor Ortiz, amidst the ongoing rift between rival promoters and TV companies.
It tells you everything you need to know about the problems in boxing today. The great contests aren’t waged in the ring with a pair of 10oz gloves. The real battles take place in the offices of TV executives and promoters, with lawyers poring over the small print.
Nobody is benefiting from it. Least of all the fans.
Dana White puts the UFC fans first
The UFC may be a dictatorship. But at the helm is a man with a clear vision.
The truth is that there is no bigger fan of MMA than Dana White. He may be a billionaire, he may be one of the most powerful men in sports, but at heart he’s the same as the millions of MMA fans across the world.
He loves nothing more than seeing two great fighters touch gloves and go to war.
He’s committed to giving the fans the best possible spectacle every time they hand over their dollars to watch a UFC event. He will never let politics get in the way of that.
St-Pierre vs Diaz is another example of Dana White listening to the fans. It’s why the sport of MMA keeps growing.
And it’s why boxing is standing still.
Ralph Welch
info@ultimatefightclub.co.uk
twitter: @ralphwelch
Labels: St-Pierre v Diaz, UFC, Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, Haye vs Klitschko, Dana White UFC,
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