Tweet
ATLANTA – UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and his training partner, UFC 145 winner and fast-rising prospect Rory MacDonald, both have publicly stated they won't fight each other.
We've heard that credo before, but UFC president Dana White thinks that could easily change in this case.
"I guarantee you if Rory looks looks at GSP's [expletive] bank account, he'll want to beat the [expletive] out of him," White said.
The teammate vs. teammate possibility was a popular storyline heading into UFC 145. MacDonald (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), the 22-year-old phenom from Tristar Gym, took a co-headlining slot at Atlanta's Phillips Arena. Against an overmatched Che Mills (14-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he dominated and scored a second-round TKO for his fourth win in five UFC fights.
MacDonald's only career loss came two years ago to now-interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 115. MacDonald was seven seconds away from winning that fight until Condit staged the late comeback.
But despite the setback, he's been tapped the next big thing in MMA, and a showdown with longtime reigning champion St-Pierre is a very real possibility. Both fighters, though, have suggested they'd rather move up in weight class than fight each other. The fight, they said, wouldn't be worth souring the mentor-protege relationship.
"Me and Georges are teammates and friends," MacDonald told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) prior to the event. "So it's not going to get to that point of Rashad (Evans) and (Jon) Jones. I understand people want to see that drama, but I'm not bringing the drama. Me and Georges will work together and hopefully he retires or he moves up (in weight) or whatever. I'll wait my turn."
But that irks White. He said a fighter's time in the sport is limited, and avoiding what could potentially be blockbuster fights is good for no one.
"Here's what it always comes down, and we've had this conversation a million times, guys," White said. "Why are you in this? You're in this to be the world champion.
"That's what it's about. It's about winning, and becoming – see, everyone around the world knows GSP, and they love this guy. He makes [expletive] loads of money and the list goes on and on. Rory wants that. And it's not like we're setting up this fight where you're going to fight and you're going to have to hate each other after."
White points to the boxing world, where countless sparring partners have worked their way up to fight bigger names in their gym. St-Pierre, though, said he and MacDonald are more than simple training partners.
And for a fighter who has a hard enough time wanting to punch opponents he likes, fighting MacDonald would be impossible.
"I have a hard time fighting guys I like already," he said. "When I fought Jake Shields, I had a hard time fighting him. So fighting a friend? I can't do it."
White likes both fighters, but he thinks their rationale is flawed. Then again, White is obviously a biased party. As he saw this weekend at UFC 145, the teammate vs. teammate storyline can do big business. Sure, Jones and Evans had a falling out and had no trouble fighting each other, but the novelty of the situation struck a cord with ticket and pay-per-view buyers.
While St-Pierre and MacDonald are at least a year or two away from colliding in the division, White hopes they can reconsider in the meantime.
"This is the fight world," he said. "This is the world of fighting. Like I said the other day, I said this is the fight business, not the friend business. It's not.
"It just makes no sense. When people say that, it's just so stupid. So stupid."
We've heard that credo before, but UFC president Dana White thinks that could easily change in this case.
"I guarantee you if Rory looks looks at GSP's [expletive] bank account, he'll want to beat the [expletive] out of him," White said.
The teammate vs. teammate possibility was a popular storyline heading into UFC 145. MacDonald (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), the 22-year-old phenom from Tristar Gym, took a co-headlining slot at Atlanta's Phillips Arena. Against an overmatched Che Mills (14-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he dominated and scored a second-round TKO for his fourth win in five UFC fights.
MacDonald's only career loss came two years ago to now-interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 115. MacDonald was seven seconds away from winning that fight until Condit staged the late comeback.
But despite the setback, he's been tapped the next big thing in MMA, and a showdown with longtime reigning champion St-Pierre is a very real possibility. Both fighters, though, have suggested they'd rather move up in weight class than fight each other. The fight, they said, wouldn't be worth souring the mentor-protege relationship.
"Me and Georges are teammates and friends," MacDonald told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) prior to the event. "So it's not going to get to that point of Rashad (Evans) and (Jon) Jones. I understand people want to see that drama, but I'm not bringing the drama. Me and Georges will work together and hopefully he retires or he moves up (in weight) or whatever. I'll wait my turn."
But that irks White. He said a fighter's time in the sport is limited, and avoiding what could potentially be blockbuster fights is good for no one.
"Here's what it always comes down, and we've had this conversation a million times, guys," White said. "Why are you in this? You're in this to be the world champion.
"That's what it's about. It's about winning, and becoming – see, everyone around the world knows GSP, and they love this guy. He makes [expletive] loads of money and the list goes on and on. Rory wants that. And it's not like we're setting up this fight where you're going to fight and you're going to have to hate each other after."
White points to the boxing world, where countless sparring partners have worked their way up to fight bigger names in their gym. St-Pierre, though, said he and MacDonald are more than simple training partners.
And for a fighter who has a hard enough time wanting to punch opponents he likes, fighting MacDonald would be impossible.
"I have a hard time fighting guys I like already," he said. "When I fought Jake Shields, I had a hard time fighting him. So fighting a friend? I can't do it."
White likes both fighters, but he thinks their rationale is flawed. Then again, White is obviously a biased party. As he saw this weekend at UFC 145, the teammate vs. teammate storyline can do big business. Sure, Jones and Evans had a falling out and had no trouble fighting each other, but the novelty of the situation struck a cord with ticket and pay-per-view buyers.
While St-Pierre and MacDonald are at least a year or two away from colliding in the division, White hopes they can reconsider in the meantime.
"This is the fight world," he said. "This is the world of fighting. Like I said the other day, I said this is the fight business, not the friend business. It's not.
"It just makes no sense. When people say that, it's just so stupid. So stupid."
Comment