UFC President Dana White
Dana’s imaginary UFC wishlist for 2012
“He’s making a list. And checking it twice. He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town.”
Regardless of whether or not Dana White celebrates Christmas, Chanukah, or any of the other December holidays, we’re assuming the UFC President is already writing up his letter to Santa.
There are obviously things MMA’s most powerful man wants (and needs) and what better way to get them than to ask the guy in the big red suit!
We decided it might be fun if we helped Dana out with a quick list of a few things that should be on his letter to Santa. I guess we’ll have to wait until 2012 to find out what Dana really asked for. Until then, feel free to let us know in the comments what you think he should ask of old Saint Nick.
1. Healthy Stars
The UFC needs its stars to shine and, lately, injuries have been making them just a bit dimmer. Currently on the shelf are Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, and Georges St-Pierre, among many others. To make matters worse, fans won’t be able to see GSP in the octagon again until the latter part of 2012. His knee surgery last week may have been a success, but that doesn’t mean his ACL is going to heal any sooner.
Having your biggest draw on the sideline for an entire year is not good for business, no matter how Dana might spin it. Having his comeback fight against top competition like the winner of Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit could be even worse. Who knows how GSP will look after that much time off.
2011 was a tough year for UFC injuries (Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, and Rashad Evans, to name just a few, all dealt with pretty major injuries) and 2012 isn’t starting off much better. The first thing Dana should be asking for this Christmas is the health of his biggest stars.
2. Muzzles For His Fighters With Big Mouths
If Dana’s big mouth fighters would keep their inappropriate mouths closed, we wouldn’t be talking about this right now.
White keeps telling the press that “these are smart guys,” but they routinely show us otherwise and the comments made by Griffin, Evans, and Torres only reinforce that fact. If they were as smart as Dana thinks, they’d keep the outrageous comments to themselves.
Everyone loves a guy who can open up on Twitter and tell a few jokes – even talk a little trash – but they need to know where to draw the line. Chael Sonnen, for all his crazy trash-talking antics, may have pissed off the entire nation of Brazil, but he’s kept most of his jokes in fairly good taste. Sure, he’s ripping on other fighters (mostly Anderson Silva) and talking a lot of trash, but you don’t see him taking to Twitter with rape jokes.
Maybe what Dana needs are some good quality muzzles for his less ethically inclined loudmouths.
3. More Elite Female Fighters
With the ink on the recent Strikeforce deal barely dry, MMA fans are going to continue to be able to see the rise of women’s MMA. That’s awesome. Really. We love seeing talented female fighters scrap.
The only problem is that the talent pool is about as deep a plastic kiddie pool. There’s Cyborg, Tate, Kaufman, Rousey, Coenen, Carano (when she’s not out making movies), and a handful of others, but that’s about it. We know Dana White hasn’t always been a fan of women’s MMA, but if he’s going to truly embrace Strikeforce the way he claims he is, the organization needs more elite female fighters. For the female side of the sport to grow, gain new female viewers, and put on consistently strong fights, there needs to be a deeper talent pool.
The good thing, however, is that with MMA becoming so mainstream over the past few years the number of females getting into Muay Thai, BJJ, and fighting in general has surely risen. It’s now just a matter of finding and cultivating that talent. I mean, how fun would a female version of The Ultimate Fighter be, right? I’d pay big bucks to see Tate and Rousey as coaches on the first season.
Make it happen, Santa!
4. Rage Against The Machine Tickets
This one should be obvious. I’m sure they’re probably already on Dana’s real letter to Santa, but if not they should be. Take this video for example (start around the 2:00 mark). The guy clearly loves to rock out to a little Rage… from time to time. Bring Dana a pair of tickets, Santa. We want to see him in the mosh pit again.
Happy Holidays!
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