Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Dana White's Reaction to Crocop Leaving the UFC


This is courtesy of MMAnews.com. For those who are not up to speed on the whole situation here is a LINK explaining everything.

The following is a message from Cindy Ortiz, a friend of UFC president Dana White (who happened to book Mr. White on MMANews.com's old "CFZ Radio" program a few years ago and still has a friendly relationship with him to this day):

I just talked to DW and this is what he had to say:

The split was amicable and the terms were decided on in advance. Cro Cops $350k (plus bonuses) contract had a clause in it stating that if he lost two consecutive fights Zuffa had the right to void the existing agreement and negotiate a new one.

CC never dreamed that he would be so overwhelmed by the level of competition he has faced in the UFC so far and and the losses have impacted him mentally.

The UFC did NOT cut Cro Cop from the roster nor did they threaten to make him sit out until his contract expired if he didn't take the pay cut deal.

Rather than negotiate a new contract with the UFC right now (and risk racking up more losses), Cro Cop wants to get a couple of tune up fights (and wins) in some of the smaller shows (no more tune up matches for him in the UFC) in hopes of rebuilding his confidence and getting himself back on track.

DW understood completely and supported Cro Cop in his decision. The last thing DW wants to do is shell out a six-figure purse to a fighter that isn't fighting worth a dayum. Even though it would have been lower than the original figure, it would still be a waste of money and resources.

Cro Cops ultimate goal is to win the UFC HW championship belt and DW believes he still has the potential to accomplish that goal. CC's plan when he signed with the UFC was, "I will become Champion after three matches. I will need two and a half or three months off between each match. I expect to hold the UFC belt by the Summer. Then I want Pride Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Vs Me the UFC Heavyweight Champion on New Years Eve."

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I can understand he needs to take some time off to build up confidence after some of the losses but leaving the UFC? That will make some of his fans think he's backing down. I think he should just take some time off and train harder then ever.

Illmatic7980 said...

I respect Crocop he's still got skills, but truthfully he never really fought any true Ufc fighters. Those would of been his tune matches. Because those UFC guys truly are a notch below Pride fighters. Truthfully!!!! everyone knows it. Eddie Sanchez was a true UFC fighter and Cro cop crushed him. Gabriel Gonzaga was new to the UFC and he took care of business that night and beat Cro cop. And Cheick Kongo was another new guy to the UFC, and he's just a beast and he also took care of business. The competition nowadays is pretty tight the new guys have skills. I'm not even mad if he takes some time off and get his killer instinct back.

Anonymous said...

Should Brock Lesner reread the fine print of his contract to see if he could be fighting his third match with the UFC for 30% of
$250k?

Anonymous said...

illmatic7980 said:
"Eddie Sanchez was a true UFC fighter and Cro cop crushed him. Gabriel Gonzaga was new to the UFC...."

You are blatantly trying to make excuses for CroCop and you're completely bullshitting. Eddie fought CC as his(Eddie's) SECOND UFC fight. Gonzaga was on his 4th fight when he got CC. Kongo was also on his 4th fight when he got CC. So I'm not sure what kind of logic you're trying to use. But CroCop got demolished by 2 TRUE UFC fighters, and beat a newer UFC fighter in Eddie Sanchez. What you said was straight up retarded.

Anonymous said...

i don't give a shit about those two loses fot crocop, he'll be back and kick gonzaga's ass and kongo's ass just like he kicked randleman's ass after kevin knocked him out!!!!!

Anonymous said...

well, in my opinion CC didnt lose because GG and kongo are better but rather because he was unprepared ,mentaly or physical, and that to me i a big difference.

Anonymous said...

crocop would take sylvia and arlovsky easy, he just got put up against bad matches. ufc always tries to match up pride guys with oponent they figure can beat them.

Anonymous said...

"crocop would take sylvia and arlovsky easy, he just got put up against bad matches. ufc always tries to match up pride guys with oponent they figure can beat them."


Yes because god forbid pride fighters actually have to fight people who can beat them right?This isn't pride where your favorite fighter fights a bunch of nobodies and then has a title fight. This is the UFC everyone is a competitor espicially in the HW division.

Anonymous said...

well,i have been following mma for a while...even though crocop lost few matches i know he can beat every each and one of the guys in ufc...u know what..his leg kicks are taken away in ufc...kickboxers can not show their full potential...thet smack with knees...

Anonymous said...

I see plenty of leg kicks in the UFC, it's all about knowing when to use them. CroCop I think relies too much on his leg kicks, making him a one-dimensional fighter. He can't go in to every fight thinking he's going to intimidate guys with his powerful kicks, because when it fails, you have no other game plan. That's why he lost 2 straight matches.