Union, UFC Leader Wage War Of Words

By Brian Martin, Staff Writer

LA Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_21224899/mma-notebook-union-ufc-leader-wage-war-words

UFC president Dana White is no friend of the Culinary
Workers Union, Local 226 of Las Vegas.

At issue is the union's beef against anyone with ties
to UFC parent company Zuffa, which was founded in 2001
by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and
Lorenzo Fertitta. For years the Culinary Workers have
been trying to unionize Station Casinos and, through
pointing out any and all negative aspects of the UFC to
advertisers and regulators, have proved to be a major
pain for Zuffa and the UFC.

White, the figurehead for all things UFC, never shies
away from a question, and quite often if it raises his
ire, one can expect a passionate response along with a
few expletives for good measure.

Such was the case Thursday at the JW Marriott at L.A.
Live after a news conference for Saturday's UFC on Fox
4 at Staples Center.

While the Culinary Workers Union is largely blamed for
the UFC's inability to get MMA legalized and regulated
in New York, White has also alleged it is behind
legislation in Sacramento that he claims would force
the UFC to stop holding events in California. AB2100
would abolish exclusive contracts and impose a 5
percent tax on broadcast fees. In April, the bill
passed through the committee for Arts, Entertainment,
Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media by a 5-3 vote and
is headed to the Committee on Appropriations.

The latest salvo by the Culinary Workers Union that has
White's attention is a video piecing together comments
by White and UFC fighters that could be viewed as
profane, derogatory, misogynistic and homophobic.

But the real target of the video is actress Mandy
Moore, who is known for her wholesome image as well as
being a vocal UFC fan. The video goes so far as to
question her being a positive role model because of her
affinity for the UFC.

When White was asked Thursday whether AB2100 might
hamper the UFC's presence in California, even after he
praised holding fights in Los Angeles and at Staples
Center, he pulled no punches.

"The Las Vegas Culinary Union. They're gangsters who
continue to mess with us, you know? That's what these
guys are - they're gangsters.

"They started this online attack of Mandy Moore because
she's a fan of the UFC. Let me tell you what ... Mandy
Moore is one of the nicest people I have ever met in my
life. She's sweet. She would never hurt a fly. These
scumbags are out there attacking her online and going
to people like Disney and all these people she does
business with because she's a UFC fan ...

"I don't care what you do or what you say about me.
Start websites about me, run commercials about me. Go
on YouTube, you can see everything I've ever said in my
whole life anyway. ... But when you start attacking a
sweet person like Mandy Moore because you want another
$11 million from Station Casinos, you're a scumbag."

When asked whether he stands by his stance that the UFC
wouldn't return to California should AB2100 become law,
White stuck to his guns.

"No doubt about it. We'll see what happens. This is my
life, man. This is what we do. We started out, we
weren't sanctioned anywhere. We're still trying to get
into N.Y. We're working on France and all these other
places. It takes time. Things are always gonna pop up.
Things are always gonna happen. And we gotta deal with
them."

Third time's a charm

Staples Center general manager Lee Zeidman opened
Thursday's news conference by noting this is the third
time the UFC has come to Staples Center.

It made its first foray into Los Angeles in 2006 with
UFC 60, followed by UFC 104 in 2009.

Zeidman then made an observation that drew a loud
applause from the fans in attendance.

"To Dana and everybody at UFC, I think speak on behalf
of all fight fans in Los Angeles, that every three
years is too long for you to come back here. We'd like
to see you back here on an annual basis," Zeidman said.

Up close feature

When pointed out that he has never been interested in
referee cameras, a new feature that Fox will debut in
the Octagon on Saturday, White interjected, "I'm still
not interested in it."

He then softened his stance a little.

"It's great in boxing. Maybe it'll be fantastic," White
said of the ref cam. "They have the 10-count in boxing,
so when the referee's counting, saying, `Are you OK?'
and wipes off the gloves and says, `Can you continue
fighting?' the camera's right in the guy's face. We
have, I can't remember how many, like 11 cameras in the
UFC already, but we're trying new things so we'll see
how it works out.

Not so fast

UFC fans initially balked at White's decision to award
a title shot to the winner of the main event between
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Brandon Vera. White changed
his mind earlier this week and said it will go to
whichever light heavyweight performs most impressively
Saturday.

But for any fans still complaining, White points at how
it has all played out.

"Shogun Rua had the fight of the year last year against
Dan Henderson, who is now fighting Jon Jones for the
title. How quickly we forget, everybody," White said
with a big grin. "We'll see what happens on Saturday.
Again, don't judge fights till they happen. And you
know if it sucks on Saturday, I'll be the first one
standing up here and letting you know."

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