MMA

Dana White Discusses Past Difficulties with Vince McMahon

MMA


The relationship between MMA and pro wrestling runs hot and cold.




Sometimes, the two are all over each other. They’re sharing talent like Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and Ronda Rousey. They’re playing up the athletes’ achievements in the others’ ring. They’re plugging each others’ upcoming media on pay-per-view and TV.

Sometimes, wrestling and MMA just work really, really well together. Heck, Pride FC was basically an infomercial for wrestling shows! Lyoto Machida learned catch wrestling from WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki at the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo, famous for producing some of Japan’s top puroresu talent.

True fact: Antonio Inoki once beat the heck out of Lyoto Machida...to congratulate him for winning his MMA debut! Screen by us.

True fact: Antonio Inoki once beat the heck out of Lyoto Machida…to congratulate him for winning his MMA debut! Screen by us.

Other times, however, MMA and pro wrestling have come head-to-head, and not in a fun way. From 2005 until 2012, the UFC and WWE were fiercely competitive over the dwindling pay-per-view market. Fans were gravitating away from the format due to the rising costs of cable and the takeover of broadband internet (which increased the popularity of piracy) and WWE and UFC were often forced to battle for the handful of subscribers willing to shell out $50 for three hours of entertainment.

Naturally, that soured things between the two companies, but the backroom dealings and true bitterness, to this point, remain mysteries. UFC prez Dana White was willing to shed a little bit of light on how things were between the two promotions in a recent interview.

Brock Lesnar suddenly leaving the WWE back in 2004 was likely a major point of tension between the UFC and WWE. Photo by WWE.

Brock Lesnar suddenly leaving the WWE back in 2004 was likely a major point of tension between the UFC and WWE. Photo by WWE.

Here are the quotes:

“I think Vince and definitely Stephanie (McMahon) and Triple H — Stephanie and Triple H are always great, always cool to work with — Vince has been very difficult in the past but the past several years he’s been much better. He’s a (expletive) maniac, he’s an animal, he’s a competitor, he wants to win. That’s his nature and I respect it.”

Dana also paid compliments to Vince as well:

“If you look at what Vince McMahon has accomplished in all of his years and to still be on top and still be doing it. The guy’s got enough money, he’s in it because he loves it, he’s in it because he’s still passionate about it. I would say that this last Brock deal and when Ronda went over did the WWE WrestleMania, those were the two out of all the years of dealing with Vince and everybody, those were probably the two best experiences.”

Ronda Rousey's WrestleMania 31 appearance was one of the high points in the UFC-WWE relationship. Photo by WWE.

Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania 31 appearance was one of the high points in the UFC-WWE relationship. Photo by WWE.

While the UFC and WWE have had a rough go of it over the last 10 years, they seem to have some sort of official working relationship. As White detailed, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey were both lent to the other organization for major events (UFC 200 and WrestleMania, respectively). Those arrangements benefited both companies (well, except for Lesnar’s failed drug test), and likely greased the wheels for future collaborations.

What could those be? Could we see Paige VanZant scrap with women like Bayley and Sasha Banks? Could we see Brock Lesnar step into the Octagon again? What about other wrestlers?

I don’t know…but I’m excited to find out!


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