edub: Ah see heres where we differ than. That speech I thought was equal parts of being funny and shit talking. MJ was not ever known to be humble on the court, and he shouldnt have to go out of his way to be humble in his acceptance speech. Like when he called out Bryon Russes for talking shit to him the year before he came back, and then went on to destroy him in the finals. I thought that was awesome. I thought the speech was great.

Hear, hear.

I loved his speech. Jordan was a notorious shit talker on the court but he’s supposed to feign humility during his HoF acceptance speech? Whatev. Jordan is the GOAT.

Lee Gerowitz: And then he went on to make possibly the worst acceptance speech in the history of any kind of hall of fame

Ah see heres where we differ than. That speech I thought was equal parts of being funny and shit talking. MJ was not ever known to be humble on the court, and he shouldnt have to go out of his way to be humble in his acceptance speech. Like when he called out Bryon Russes for talking shit to him the year before he came back, and then went on to destroy him in the finals. I thought that was awesome. I thought the speech was great.

So, to play off of your point, here’s another analogy…

MJ started off his speech praising people and then tailed off into insulting many others.

Well, hasn’t Dana White done that with Fedor? Didn’t he praise him when he said he wanted to sign him? Then he met with Fedor and his folks, and couldn’t sign him?

And where are we now again with Dana’s attitude towards Fedor?

Thanks.

Mousassi, Werdum, Fedor, Brett, Sokoudu, FOR FREEE???? are you kidding?!

and I should add Randy and all the fights this weekend, because that is the only reason the UFC is making it free.

Give me a break all the UFC fanboys need to back off.

His personal attacks on guys like Tito stem primarily from their long history and friendship, which is almost always bound to happen when you mix business with friendships. I don’t think many newer fighters have to worry about that so long as they keep their relationship professional.

Lee Gerowitz: When Michael Jordan recently got inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame, rather than take the opportunity to thank those who supported him throughout his career, he took that once in a lifetime opportunity to make an ill-conceived, negative speech that trashed opponents and completely overlooked his teammates and family.

In the first qoutes of his speech he said “I wouldn’t be here without Scotty Pippen. I wouldnt be here without Phil Jackson…” and he continued to thank teammates opponents and coaches throughout his whole speech, while also getting his jabs in. Not quite sure if i see the analogy at all.

I still feel this same way. Think about it like this… We’re coming off the biggest show in Strikeforce’s history and we’re talking just as much about the UFC and Dana as we are Fedor and Jake Shields. This guy knows how to keep his show in everyone’s mind even when it shouldn’t be.

On top of that I do think it’s necessary for Dana to go at Strikeforce full force. Look at what some of the people around here say. Strikeforce gets to borrow Aoki and you see people start saying “With all of these signings… the UFC better watch out!” We all know in reality that’s not the case, but you have to match hyperbole with hyperbole. Does Dana really think Fedor would come in and get steamrolled by every UFC heavyweight? Of course not. Does he really think Brett Rogers would come into the UFC and get destroyed? Probably, but so do a lot of people, including myself.

In the end it’s just like any other business. Your goal is to be the biggest and best at what you do and when you finally get there, your goal is to stay there and crush anyone who starts to grab at your ankles. Right now Strikeforce has a hand on the UFC’s shoe and it’s time to kick them back down the mountain.

That’s Dana White’s take. He’s Dana White, the face of what is in his mind, the one and only promotion that matters in the world of mixed martial arts. If you’re hoping or wishing for Dana White to spew compliments towards other organizations and its fighters on a consistent basis, keep dreaming. In his mind, the UFC is responsible for putting the sport on the mainstream map, so what does complimenting other promotions and its fighters do for him? Nothing.

At least it has in the past.

Fedor didn’t get his face smashed in. He had a bloody nose and some welts. Fedor is a bruiser and always gets welts. So it really comes down to a bloody nose.

So are we now to assume that Randy Couture is a complete joke of a fighter since he lost to Brock Lesnar? Of course not, he’s fighting this weekend and he’s the best fighter on the planet again.

Dana always preaches about how his brand of MMA is the best because he’s terrified people may discover it’s not about the banner under which someone fights, it’s the fighter and his opponent that matter and NOTHING else.

I love good MMA, I couldn’t give a shit what brand it’s under.