Yes, you read it correctly. Top welterweight prospect Jon Fitch (8-1 UFC) has been dropped from the UFC. Why, you ask? Well, that's an excellent question. Both sides are giving completely different stories.
Fitch said Wednesday the dispute was over his reluctance to sign a lifetime contract to allow his name and likeness to be used in a video game the UFC is planning with THQ (UFC Undisputed 2009). He went on to say that the dispute has nothing to do with money and that he never caused a problem during his time in the UFC.
Dana White had this to say to Carmichael Dave during “The Carmichael Dave” show on 1140 KHTK in Sacramento:
“No, no, no. It has nothing to do with an agreement,” White said, correcting Carmichael when the host began to imply that Fitch was released because of reports he wouldn’t sign an agreement that would give the UFC lifetime rights to his likeness for the purpose of making video games.
“It doesn’t have to do with Jon Fitch, either,” continued White. “I like Jon Fitch. I’ve never had a bad word with Jon Fitch. The problem is with the idiots that run AKA. I won’t use any names; the idiots know who they are.”
Later, when another Fitch quote about having to give up their whole lives in a contract without seeing any compensation to his family if he should die, White had this to say:
“What’s with this whole lives? Do you know how much Jon Fitch made for the Georges St. Pierre fight? Where the hell else could Jon Fitch go right now and make the money he made? He made $169,000 for that night for that fight. Where’s he going to make that kind of money in one night?”
Christian Wellisch (who recently suffered a first-round KO loss to rising UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin) was also released yesterday. Other stars from the American Kickboxing Academy that may be in trouble are Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez.
Koscheck is expected to be safe until at least after he fights Yoshida as the headliner of the "Fight For The Troops" card on Dec. 10, but Velasquez, one of the sport's rising stars, is clearly not on the best terms with White. White said Zinkin (management team) wanted standard language that is part of every UFC fighter's contract removed from Velasquez's deal.
"Can you believe that?," White said. "Chuck Liddell has that language in his contract. Randy Couture has it. Anderson Silva has it. And Cain [expletive] Velasquez, with two [expletive] fights, wants us to change it for him? That's [expletive] nuts. He can get the [expletive] out."
As you can see, White has basically declared war on the AKA and those represented by DeWayne Zinkin and Bob Cook. He warned prospects in AKA that are trying to get into the UFC that they are basically already on shaky ground just by training there.
I understand where both sides are coming from, but White seems like he is acting out of anger once again. We have seen him do things like this to Tito Ortiz, Andrei Arlovski, and Roger Huerta just to name a few. The Fertitas need to jump in a fix this situation immediately because other companies with weaker welterweight divisions like Affliction would love to grab UFC stars like Fitch and Koscheck to call their own. White honestly doesn't care, though:
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about 1 month ago
Im absolutely dumbfounded. I dont know what to say. This seems to have blown up way out of preportion. This is a symbiotic relationship. This should be getting worked out behind closed doors, not this public mess. This is where the UFC really shows its ass. They need the fighters, unless they plan on marketing names like Lesnar for the rest of time, they need legit fighters like Fitch to keep the hardcore fan interested. I hate to see this kind of crap going on. These guys just want what is coming to them, the way they are going about it may be wrong but in general, they should squash this, for the sake of mainstream MMA. Just stupid. Im glad you reported this, RearNaked did too, but I doubt Ill get any response from him.
from about 1 month ago
Yea I saw rear naked's article was missing a bit of information that came out today so I decided to make a giant one so people can know the whole story.
Dana is acting out of anger once again. While he did so much for the sport, he is taking away a lot from it with his shrewd business practices. If this doesn't get settled then you'll see all of these guys in Affliction (before they fold due to money loss).
from about 1 month ago
Dana may actually end up being responsible for Affliction's success by cutting his own throat and helping them fill up all of their weight from his cast offs or scared off fighters. He was deuling with Roger Huerta and intentially knocked him flat saying that the organization had fed him cans to build up his carrer and reputation with long record of wins.
Self destruct Dana, and giv that tee shirt all you fighters. Just keep Brock, Hughes and Liddell and you can sit around discussing the good old days when you all were on the top of the heap rather than at the bottom trying to scrape all the bs off your shoes.
about 1 month ago
This is ridiculous- I cant think of much to say other then that. Do we know that Dana is acting out of line with what the "Brothers" want. I guess we dont know their official stance in all of this yet do we...
from about 1 month ago
Dana is usually out of line with their thinking. They think with the business part of their brain, and Dana just thinks with the "May way or the highway" part of his brain.
Affliction wouldn't really have many big names if Dana just kept them in the UFC to begin with:
Arlovski
Sylvia (well maybe not so much)
Sobral (what he did was wrong, but BJ did it also to Pulver and got no punishment)
Lindland
Ortiz (not affliction, but still has fights left in him)
Thats a good chunk of the next Affliction card right there.
from about 1 month ago
FEDOR
Dana White was negotiating his contract also
about 1 month ago
The Fedor debacle was also the fact that Fedor's management team seems like they want a steep price for him. He isn't really well known in America for them to be asking that much money for him yet. If this was negotiating in Japan, then sure, but not here.
about 1 month ago
Maybe Dana will cause the UFC to fold?
Hey, a guy can dream...
from about 1 month ago
And so can I, and now I am dreaming big!
about 1 month ago
I like Jon Fitch. I hope Dana does the right thing and brings him back, because this is utter bullshit.
about 1 month ago
Jon Fitch Returns to UFC, by John Pollock, Fight Network Journalist
Just one day after welterweight Jon Fitch was released by the UFC, he has returned to the organization after a chaotic day according to MMARated.com.
Fitch spoke with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and has agreed to sign the video game merchandising deal.
The negotiations between UFC president Dana White and Fitch's manaagement Zinkin Entertainment shut down yesterday and resulted in both Fitch and Christian Wellisch being let go by the UFC.
As part of the deal made today, Christian Wellisch is also being brought back by the UFC.
One would assume that this agreement will also prevent Josh Koscheck and Cain Velasquez from leaving the organization.
about 1 month ago
It seems that Dana White is the best thing to happen to UFC and mma but also the worst. The best because of his passion and love for the sport to bring it where it is today and continue to expand to different states, countries, espn, and other venues. But he happens to be the worst thing sometimes just because he acts like such a child sometimes. Fitch is a great fighter and one of my favorites, and I think he has a lot of respect from the die hards.
Dana needs to say forget it on these contract disputes and force the fighters hand to try to hold out instead of just cutting them all together with some childish anger. Couture is back because of these reasons. Its either this or they need to start opening up their pockets a little more which people have been saying for awhile now. Option one seems to be more likely however.
He wouldn't let Couture go but he will let go of some top fighters apparently that he hasn't marketed as well. I just hope they can come to some resolution because the WW division will not be nearly as strong if they lose Fitch and Kos.
about 1 month ago
The UFC might not be the place for Fitch anyway. He seems stuck in the same place the Sherk and Franklin are: #2 of their respective weight classes, with no sign of becoming #1. Time for a change.
from about 1 month ago
I wanted Fitch to get Alves again, darn it!
about 1 month ago
I wonder if David Spade and Mandy Moore are available to do an intervention on Dana?
from about 1 month ago
I'm not sure where those two fit into this, I just wanted to say that Mandy Moore is absolutely beautiful.
from about 1 month ago
Both are friends who could perhaps influence Dana.
about 1 month ago
Although we'll never really know exactly what happens behind the scenes during these negotiations, I think it's fair to say that Dana White needs a slap every once in a while. This would be one of those times. We can all agree that Dana has done many great things for this sport and for the UFC, but he sometimes acts like a 3 year old who just had his juice box taken away. He runs this business like a dictatorship, it's his way or death. You either do what Dana White tells you to do or have your way of life taken from you. Seriously - "Sign your life to me, and when you die, all the money we make off you is ours, f*ck your family, F*ck your children" - this is the way this whole thing is coming across to me. I may be wrong because I don't totally know all the facts, but this is the way it seems to me.
The way he talks about Velasquez is sickening. I don't know what's going on in White's head but he really needs to smarten up. Cain Velasquez makes the heavyweight division VERY interesting and to lose him would be a travesty. Fans of the sport would be very disappointed if White kicked him to the curb. Dana needs to act based upon what's best for the company, and having Cain Velasquez squashing competition in the heavyweight division is very good for business. He needs to put aside his angry schoolboy attitude and not throw these guys to the curb like they're pieces of dirt. It's a good thing that Lorenzo's around because someone needs to put a pacifier in that baby's mouth.
about 1 month ago
Updated the article. Thanks Lorenzo for restoring order, yet again.
about 1 month ago
great read man, 5 stars and POTD :P
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