MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[NLRepublic]

UFC president Dana White baffled by backlash from GOOD4U sponsor ban
by Steven Marrocco on Oct 21, 2010 at 9:30 am ET
LOS ANGELES – Dana White stands by UFC executive and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta's decision to ban GOOD4U Drinks as a fighter sponsor.

And for those who question the UFC's even-handedness when it comes to the sponsors it approves for its athletes, White has one thing to say.

Tough.

"Who gives a [expletive]?" White told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) on Wednesday. "Lorenzo said no. Get over it."

The performance-drink company made news when recent UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin, one of GOOD4U's sponsored athletes, voiced his displeasure with the recent ban.

"And another worthy, great, honorable company supporting fighters banned from the UFC," Carwin wrote Tuesday on his Twitter account. "Thank you for making a tough road even tougher."

The message later was removed.

GOOD4U Drinks co-president Rick DeBanks released a statement on the company's official website confirming the notice from Fertitta and Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the UFC.

"GOOD4U Drinks is seen by Zuffa as a direct competitor to Xenergy (which is owned by Zuffa) and AMP Energy, which advertises heavily on both WEC events and Spike TV's 'The Ultimate Fighter' program," DeBanks stated. "Although GOOD4U are sport drinks, not energy drinks, they have been taking share from these brands."

DeBanks said four athletes on this Saturday's UFC 121 card – Chris Camozzi, Matt Hamill, Patrick Cote and Jon Madsen – were directly affected by the ban.

According to its website, GOOD4U Drinks makes several "performance drinks" for athletes. They include GOOD4U System Preload, which purports to aid pre-workout energy levels; GOOD4U System Reload, which helps an athlete recover from an intense workout; GOOD4U Thinagain, a metabolism booster; and GOOD4U D Stress, which claims to mellow symptoms of stress.

White said he wasn't aware of Fertitta's ban or Carwin's reaction, but he was unsympathetic to GOOD4U's non-competition claim. He balked at the idea of Fertitta's decision as a source of controversy.

"Is that weird? Do people just go into the NBA and does Shaq go, 'Listen, Boston Celtics, I've got this backrub cream. ... It just doesn't work that way," he said.

The promotion long has retained the right to approve and deny the companies that sponsor fighters, and companies often pay a fee for that right. Fighters who compete in the UFC are required to submit a list of who's sponsoring them and subsequently receive a notice on which ones are approved.

Companies banned by the promotions often make headlines, particularly companies that make MMA apparel.

Jason Genet, who manages Camozzi, said his fighter has found new sponsors for the fight, though he said the ban could have longterm effects on his clients' bottom line.

"It really does come down to – it's their show," Genet said. "The players and independent contractors do not dictate sponsorship policy. But when these restrictions come into play, it has an affect on the athletes. Every decision has an affect on the athletes' ability to earn."

White, however, said the ban is just business.

"This happens all the time, but this is normal in sports," he said.

For complete coverage of UFC 121, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

Would love to hear the phone call Carwin got right before he took that off twitter

[IceCold48]

this is unheard of! carwin bitching? whod a thuk it?

[beau420]

When you re a company that wants to sponsor in a UFC fight, I thought you got approved by Zuffa and you pay a fee.

Has GOOD4U sponsored fighters in previous Zuffa events or is this there first attempt and they were puled a week before getting on the air?

I would be pissed if I was GOOD4U and payed Zuffa my sponsor fee only to have by contract ripped up and I'm no longer allowed to sponsor.

I just can't believe they'd do this to a fighter who has been concentrating on cutting weight and training and thrown this monkey wrench at them. I am sure Zuffa would cover any fighter loses, but I think the thought of letting down a new sponsor contract you and your agent just secured, that would be more distracting than a fighter who still has all their original sponsors.

Since it is Brock fighting, it will be a heavily watched show...more so than your average UFC event, but Zuffa should have thought of this shit well before 5-6 days before the event.

[joeodd2]

wow sucks for the fighters, but Dana's hurting too guys...I hear last week he could only afford to do coke off of the asses of 3 strippers. 3 Strippers people! Fighters need to quite bitching.....

[Sakara=Excitement]

Dana didn't make the call here folks.

[Flint Westwood]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

Dana didn't make the call here folks.

His attitude doesn't help. He's the same guy who said a few weeks ago:

"These guys aren't going in to Afghanistan," he said. "The US military puts their life on the line. Police, firefighters walk into the line of fire … UFC fighters do not. These are smart guys with college educations. If they don't want to do this, go out and get a real job."

Talk about complete ignorance! This guy doesn't even respect his own employees let alone the sport of MMA. He's loving the money and nothing else. MMA fighters are putting their lives on the line in every fight. They train harder than any other athlete out there. MMA fighting is a REAL job. Dana White is so unbelievably naive and ignorant, I'm bewildered at a lot of the crap coming out of his mouth lately.
Would like to think if this moron would change his mind about fighters not putting their lives on the line if he was to step in there with Shane Carwin and take a Carwin right hand to the skull. It would be pretty damn life-threatening for Dana White I'd bet.

[IceCold48]

Originally Posted by Flint Westwood

His attitude doesn't help. He's the same guy who said a few weeks ago:

"These guys aren't going in to Afghanistan," he said. "The US military puts their life on the line. Police, firefighters walk into the line of fire … UFC fighters do not. These are smart guys with college educations. If they don't want to do this, go out and get a real job."

Talk about complete ignorance! This guy doesn't even respect his own employees let alone the sport of MMA. He's loving the money and nothing else. MMA fighters are putting their lives on the line in every fight. They train harder than any other athlete out there. MMA fighting is a REAL job. Dana White is so unbelievably naive and ignorant, I'm bewildered at a lot of the crap coming out of his mouth lately.
Would like to think if this moron would change his mind about fighters not putting their lives on the line if he was to step in there with Shane Carwin and take a Carwin right hand to the skull. It would be pretty damn life-threatening for Dana White I'd bet.

i know this guys banned but can someone remove all his posts because those rolling smiley faces in every thread is so damn annoying!

[Crystalman7]

I would like to say 2 things here.

No. 1: Dana White doesnt know a sh*t about anything, specially MMA.

No. 2: MMA is a business, not an sport.

[IceCold48]

Originally Posted by Crystalman7

I would like to say 2 things here.

No. 1: Dana White doesnt know a sh*t about anything, specially MMA.

No. 2: MMA is a business, not an sport.

a.wrong
b.wrong again

[The Return Of......]

wake up people

sports are a business. and i imagine that dana knows a lot more about both than some people on here give him credit for.

what i hate is when people bitch about these sort of things, then say they want mma to be more like nba or nfl. they already have these kinda rules there.

as far as the real job comment....................................its like any other sport. if i have to explain any further im not sure we can have an intelligent conversation here


oh........and to comparing an mma fighter to our troops oversea?????????

fucking moron