Thursday, March 1, 2012

Dana White vs. the NSAC: Can a UFC get a lil' respect?!

A few weeks ago, Dana White was at a press conference for the initial UFC on Fuel card and the subject of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. came up.

The specific point was about the Nevada State Athletic Commission's ruling to allow him to fight in May - one month before he goes to prison.

White became upset about this ruling, and how it - along with the commission's ruling against UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen - showed a bias toward boxing in how the members vote.

"Now Chael Sonnen was not allowed to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter' after he had already paid all his dues with the state and everything else. He had paid all his dues and was ready to go again. He was not allowed to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter,'" White said.

So you have the background, Sonnen gave a guilty plea in Oregon to a money laundering charge while at the same time failing a performance-enhancing drug test in California after his fight with Anderson Silva.

He had paid the penalty given by the court in regard to the money laundering charge, and Sonnen gave an excuse of not filing his legal prescription properly to explain away the PED charge. However, the California State Athletic Commission had him serve a penalty of a year where he couldn't fight in the state.

When White wanted Silva and Sonnen to coach "The Ultimate Fighter," leading up to a rematch between the two, the NSAC was not comfortable allowing Sonnen to have a license to fight while the CSAC had not yet approved him.

On the other hand, Mayweather was found guilty of a domestic violence charge. He had not yet served his term in prison, but he managed to get his sentence delayed until June so that he could have a fight on May 5.

The NSAC opted to grant him a license, which allowed him the chance to fight in two months.

Now admittedly, Sonnen's issues were a lot more complex to describe, but I think Dana has a legitimate gripe here.

Sonnen's criminal issues were done and over with, and his other issues were exclusive to California. I get wanting to respect the other commissions, but hey, Texas' athletic commission didn't honor other groups when Antonio Margarito had a potential fight lined up.

Besides that point, though, Mayweather's crime was far more severe and he hasn't served any time on it yet. If you're going to play the high-and-mighty moral commission for UFC guys, you have to do so for boxing's mega-stars.

Yes, Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are big draws to Vegas, but so is the UFC. Considering that the two boxers bring in, at most, three fights a year, the money they draw cannot possibly be so much greater than Zuffa's events that they should not put the two on equal footing.

Between the TUF finales, at least 3 UFC PPV cards and Strikeforce Challengers events, Zuffa brings in millions for this economy. And that doesn't include money from people betting on the fights.

If the NSAC doesn't start showing equal treatment to the two sports, don't be too shocked when the UFC starts running more events in New York.

Well, once New York starts showing some respect and sanctions them, that is.

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