DANA WHITE BLASTS RIVAL EXPO IMMAE

- DANA WHITE BLASTS RIVAL EXPO IMMAE

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - by Walrus - FearTheWalrus.com


Following the UFC 101 pre-fight press conference, a bevy of reporters swarmed UFC president Dana White with questions surrounding the upcoming MMA expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center hosted by IMMAE (www.immae.tv), and how the company has signaled the beginning of a war with the biggest MMA promotion on the planet.

When prompted with the question about IMMAE scheduling a MMA expo with Fedor Emelianenko rumored to be in attendance that coincided on the same day as UFC 102 - Couture vs. Nogueira, less than two months after the UFC Fan Expo, and whether that meant the UFC was being challenged by the company, White had a very simple answer.

"You just answered your own question. They should have stayed where they were. We'll see what happens. You want to fight me we're going to fight, and you know how that goes and we know how that ends," White said.

While some believe Fedor's presence at IMMAE strengthens the expo, many others have questioned if his addition is really going to be the major deal that it was made out to be when the rumor started.

"It will put them out of business," White commented about what Fedor's presence would do for IMMAE. "These guys have no money and they have no distribution. Four (expletive) people go to IMMAE. Their last expo they put on, do you know how many people went to that expo? 245,000 people went to that expo."

Still tight lipped on the actual numbers, White is adamant that the deal the UFC offered the former Pride champion to attend the UFC Fan Expo in July was better than anything he ended up with at IMMAE.

"I guarantee you the deal he got at IMMAE isn't even in the (expletive) universe of what he got (from the UFC Fan Expo)," White stated. "The deal he got at IMMAE probably isn't even the deal he had to appear at the Field of Dreams store in the Caesars Forum Shops (the week before he fought at Pride in Las Vegas). They have no money."

It appears the gauntlet has been thrown and White isn't backing down from challenging IMMAE, and their roster of guests and events, which he commented about as well on Tuesday.

"They have no fighters, they have nobody for him to hang out with," White said about drinking buddies for Fedor after the expo. "They're a small time show; they're trying to act like they have something. MissRARA hasn't defended her Queen of the UG title since like 2007, the U.S. Open of Submission Grappling hasn't happened in something like a year, (Kirik Jenness) hasn't given out a free blue name at this thing in over a year. I-MMAE not have another show next summer. It's a joke. It's a tiny little regional show with nobody in it."

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