Rampage Jackson Retires From Fighting.

[Drunken Cat]

My point is, that Dana doesn't owe Rampage anything. The only reason Quinton can put asses in seats, boost ratings on TUF and make the money he does is because of Dana and the UFC. If Zuffa hadn't bought Rampage's contract from the WFA, he wouldn't even be a household name. Just "that guy" who Silva and and Shogun knocked into next week.

Dana paid him money, gave him huge opportunities and took big risks with Rampage when they first signed him.

I think Dana deserves the benefit of the doubt here.

And I think people need to step back, stop being a Dana hater and look at this objectively.

On the flip side though Rampage really doesn't owe Dana anything, either. That's not to say that Dana hasn't done a lot for Rampage, but like I said business is business, and it's a cruel world in the commerce community. So basically fucking some one over in business is something which goes on all the time, and something which White is most certainly complacent in as well.

Just saying.

On a personal level it may be a different story. However, one of Dana's prime tactics is to attempt to personalize business matters in order to skew appearances, for example, as in the case of the most recent Fedor negotiations. What I mean by that is how how he personalized everything, saying he was so fed up and stressed out, blah blah blah. While it may have been true, it is actually quite irrelevant to the actual circumstances. Of course the job of a promoter can be very stressful, however he used this to avoid talking about any real issues.

This is just Dana White being Dana White. The guy's great at what he does, which is basically being a con man. To give just one example to support this observation, take the way Dana conducts himself in public and on TUF with all of the profanity, **** talking through the press, etc. Well, the guy has a wife and kids at home and I highly doubt he conducts himself that way in his personal life. It's a persona, and nothing more, and this is I believe why Dana insists that nobody would want his job.. because it involves being phony day in and day out. This also may be why he's by all accounts a good guy in person, although that is not to say it is not part of the act, as it were.

[Punch Me]

This isn't about Dana White, this is about dodging a fight and screwing over your boss and your fans and your legacy. And being unprofessional.

[Drunken Cat]

This isn't about Dana White, this is about dodging a fight and screwing over your boss and your fans and your legacy. And being unprofessional.

I'm not denying any of that.. except the screwing over your boss part.

Biting the hand that feeds you? Yes. But Dana as "the big boss" is really just part of his smoke and mirrors.

I think Rampage seems like a dumb fuck for pulling this stunt, and it may bite him in the ass. It also certainly does look as though he is ducking competition, particularly becuase I believe Rashad, and clearly Machida, would be favored in either match up. That said, he's free to manage his career however he chooses. In addition to this, it is far too easy to second guess Rampage when none of us know all of the facts, so I basically have to leave it at that.

[Punch Me]

Again with Dana White. When I said the boss I meant the UFC as an organization. I mean, other fighters go in there and get beat, like Nogueira, who was like a zombie with Mir, so that they don't screw the organization's plans.

And he pulls off a fight with no legitimate reason ? He's lying, especially the part about putting off the fight "a month or so", more like a month or 6.

P.S.: I hate him, so I hope it's good riddings. He should go wreck some havok in his Rampage-mobile, and get arrested. Like what he did after that Forrest fight, where he couldn't check any leg kicks. He was like a handicapped person. Bull**** champion.

[Drunken Cat]

Again with Dana White. When I said the boss I meant the UFC as an organization. I mean, other fighters go in there and get beat, like Nogueira, who was like a zombie with Mir, so that they don't screw the organization's plans.

And he pulls off a fight with no legitimate reason ? He's lying, especially the part about putting off the fight "a month or so", more like a month or 6.

P.S.: I hate him, so I hope it's good riddings. He should go wreck some havok in his Rampage-mobile, and get arrested. Like what he did after that Forrest fight, where he couldn't check any leg kicks. He was like a handicapped person. Bull**** champion.

I know what you meant, but all the same nonetheless. Dana White is a promoter. He is not a boss to fighters.

Fighters are their own bosses.

This is a basic thing about combat sports.

[Punch Me]

I don't know why you say that. They're not their own boss, they need the money, the recognition, the fans even.

Very few ppl go around doing whatever they want in their carreers, certainly not the fighters.

I really don't understand what you mean. Maybe you mean they *should* be their own bosses ?

[Drunken Cat]

I don't know why you say that. They're not their own boss, they need the money, the recognition, the fans even.

Very few ppl go around doing whatever they want in their carreers, certainly not the fighters.

I really don't understand what you mean. Maybe you mean they *should* be their own bosses ?

The lines are a little blurred because of the monopolist business practices of the UFC which stifle competition and reduces fighters into Dana's bitches.

However a fighter is very much his own boss in the sense that they by-in-large control the progression of their own career.

For instance, Arlovski walked away from his UFC contract. Other fighters, such as Muhammad Lawal, have stated public that he is not interested in signing with the UFC (without actually mentioning the UFC by name) because he would prefer to be in charge of when and how often he fights (in other words, he doesn't want to risk being sidelined for extended periods).

For example my dad is a freelance computer programmer, which basically means he is the sole proprietor of a computer software consulting firm which contracts it's services out to corporations. He may (and does) sign a one year contract which has him working in a cubicle side-by-side with employees of the company, but he remains his own boss.

It is very similar with fighters. A professional fighting career is (not is like, is) a private entrepreneurial enterprise and each and every fighter is basically the owner of a small company, in a way quite similar to how I described above using the example of a freelance software engineer (my father, in this case). This is also why fighters retain managers, accountants, attorneys, PR men, etc.

As I stated initially though, the UFC's business practices to a degree defy the situation which I have described, due to the stifling effect on competition, which diminishes fighters' leverage, and in turn, diminishes their market value. But then, you could just as well say the same thing about the effect of Microsoft on the software development industry (in keeping to my previous example). This concludes the comparison though, as you immediately get into apples vs oranges (two different industries; two different companies; two different corporate philosophies; different scale; etc.).

I hope this makes some sense.

For the record, I have a B.S. in economics and will begin post-graduate studies next week. That's not to say that I'm an ultimate authority or that my reasoning is infallible, I only mean to say that I am not simply blowing smoke out of my ass. Feel free to disagree.

[Drunken Cat]

Again with Dana White. When I said the boss I meant the UFC as an organization. I mean, other fighters go in there and get beat, like Nogueira, who was like a zombie with Mir, so that they don't screw the organization's plans.

And he pulls off a fight with no legitimate reason ? He's lying, especially the part about putting off the fight "a month or so", more like a month or 6.

P.S.: I hate him, so I hope it's good riddings. He should go wreck some havok in his Rampage-mobile, and get arrested. Like what he did after that Forrest fight, where he couldn't check any leg kicks. He was like a handicapped person. Bull**** champion.

On this note, we really don't know if there is a legitimate reason or not.

Let's just say for the sake of argument that Rampage has had some sort of injury--for example an eye injury or a brain injury--which is compromising to his long-term health.

I'm not suggesting that this is the case, but my point is that we do not know all of the details. At the end of the day, it's his decision and his career/life.

[P4PGOAT]

I don't know why you say that. They're not their own boss, they need the money, the recognition, the fans even.

Very few ppl go around doing whatever they want in their carreers, certainly not the fighters.

I really don't understand what you mean. Maybe you mean they *should* be their own bosses ?

fighters are self employed contractors.

[P4PGOAT]

On the flip side though Rampage really doesn't owe Dana anything, either. That's not to say that Dana hasn't done a lot for Rampage, but like I said business is business, and it's a cruel world in the commerce community. So basically fucking some one over in business is something which goes on all the time, and something which White is most certainly complacent in as well.

Just saying.

On a personal level it may be a different story. However, one of Dana's prime tactics is to attempt to personalize business matters in order to skew appearances, for example, as in the case of the most recent Fedor negotiations. What I mean by that is how how he personalized everything, saying he was so fed up and stressed out, blah blah blah. While it may have been true, it is actually quite irrelevant to the actual circumstances. Of course the job of a promoter can be very stressful, however he used this to avoid talking about any real issues.

This is just Dana White being Dana White. The guy's great at what he does, which is basically being a con man. To give just one example to support this observation, take the way Dana conducts himself in public and on TUF with all of the profanity, **** talking through the press, etc. Well, the guy has a wife and kids at home and I highly doubt he conducts himself that way in his personal life. It's a persona, and nothing more, and this is I believe why Dana insists that nobody would want his job.. because it involves being phony day in and day out. This also may be why he's by all accounts a good guy in person, although that is not to say it is not part of the act, as it were.

exactly. no on e in the business is doing anything as a favour to anyone else. they're simply making decisions based on self interest. the idea of rampage owing the ufc is a joke.