Getty Dana White is president of the UFC.
UFC president Dana White blasted recently fired MMA coach Joshua Fabia in a new interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole that was published on Wednesday night. White claimed he wasn’t paying all that close attention to Fabia’s back-and-forth through the media with former UFC star Diego Sanchez but that was mostly because Fabia was “bats*** crazy” and because White doesn’t “give a f***’ about Fabia or anything he says or does.
“I haven’t really paid attention to any of that. I don’t care what that guy says,” White said.
Sanchez recently fired Fabia as his coach and representative. Fabia responded to that news by making several new unsubstantiated claims about Sanchez, most notably about him allegedly throwing fights while with the UFC.
“Diego has clearly been taking advantage of me for two years, as I have been fighting for him, and putting myself on the line for him with zero benefit.”
– Joshua Fabia on Diego Sanchez split
Sanchez was a winner on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and one of the promotion’s most popular and longest-tenured stars.
Fabia is the founder of the “School of Self Awarement”. He’s one of the most controversial figures in MMA today, but he might be on his last legs in the sport after Sanchez let him go.
Regardless, White compared being asked by the media about Fabia to the media always asking him about Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh. In White’s mind, the only reason those kinds of questions are asked is that the media hopes White will react in a certain way.
“I mean, this is one of those things, I was just telling the media the other day, every time you guys ask me about the Triller guy, it’s like, come on. You want a reaction from me. That’s what you’re looking for. I feel the same way about this kid,” White.
So what did White do next? He did exactly what he thinks the media wants him to do. He blasted Fabia for being “bats*** nuts”.
“All you guys know this kid is bats*** nuts,” White said.
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White on Sanchez’s Home Being UFC
White said the UFC would always be Sanchez’s home even though he was released before his final fight with the company.
“Diego Sanchez, this will always be his house, he will always be a part of the history of this company. As long as I’m here, he’ll always be respected for what he’s done for the UFC and “The Ultimate Fighter”,” White said.
But White didn’t have the same view about Fabia.
“I don’t really follow any of that s***. I don’t really care what anybody says. When I tell you I don’t give a f***, I could not be more honest when I tell you, I don’t give a f***, White said.
But Sanchez is a different story, and White even seemed potentially open to the idea of allowing the 39-year-old the chance to fight one more time under the UFC’s promotional banner.
“…I love Diego Sanchez. I always will,” White said.
Moreover, Sanchez can call White anytime.
“…And if Diego needs me, just like the last however many years…Diego Sanchez can pick up the phone and call me, any of those ‘TUF’ kids [can all me], you know what I mean?” White said.
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Door Open for Sanchez’s Return to UFC?
But will the UFC boss actually relent on Sanchez’s recent release? He’s not so sure about that.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Even when we were doing his farewell fight, I didn’t love the fact that he was still fighting. But no matter what I do, if I let Diego go, he’ll probably end up somewhere else…That’s what I was thinking at the time, and I love the kid. He wanted one more fight, and I was going to give it to him. And all hell broke loose,” White said.
White stopped short of saying he would consider letting Sanchez fight in the UFC again, but he didn’t shut down the idea completely either.
According to Yahoo, White’s reaction to releasing Sanchez in the first place was mostly about Fabia.
“Somehow, this creep got into Diego’s life and has been controlling him. You saw the video of him chasing guys in the Octagon with a knife. How…nuts is that? He goes to the commission and tells them that he’s taught Diego this death touch. It goes on and on with this guy. He goes into the [fighter-broadcaster] production meeting and tells the commentators what they should be saying? The guy is bats*** nuts. He worked his way into Diego’s life and has gotten control over him. I just want the best for Diego,” White said.
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