(Exclusive): Jon Fitch opens about about dealing with 'used car salesman' Dana White during his UFC tenure
It doesn't appear that Jon Fitch and Dana White had a very friendly relationship during his tenure in the UFC.
During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the former UFC welterweight title challenger described his experience dealing with White during his tenure with the promotion, where he was a fixture in the upper echelon of the welterweight division. He mentioned that he didn't believe that the UFC CEO was genuine and that he would usually just repeat what he told other fighters:
"I've got a real strong bullsh*t meter and fake people, and I don't try to be around them...He [Dana White] always gave me the willies, always turned my stomach. Anything that came out of his mouth just sound like bullsh*t, used-car salesman garbage...A lot of talking points...rehearsed statements" [17:49 - 18:16]
Jon Fitch also mentioned that when he fought Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Dana White confirmed that the winner would earn a title shot. He mentioned despite defeating Alves and the broadcast congratulating him on earning a rematch against then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, that all changed at the press conference, saying:
"I was supposed to fight 'GSP' next. If you go back and watch the DVD, the announcer will say, 'Congratulations to Jon Fitch for earning the title shot.' But at the press conference, they start floating around the idea of making me and [Josh] Koscheck fight cause they didn't really just want to give me an opportunity." [7:04 - 7:20]
Jon Fitch is currently among the fighters part of the MMAFA who have taken action through their class action lawsuit against the UFC.
Check out the full interview:
Jon Fitch reveals the UFC threatened to cut his teammates because of his interest in joining Strikeforce
Jon Fitch was one of the top welterweight fighters in the UFC throughout his tenure with the promotion. He appeared to be set on capitalizing on an opportunity with another promotion.
During the abovementioned interview, the former UFC title challenger revealed that he refused the promotion's video game agreement for UFC 2009 Undisputed and expressed interest in signing with Strikeforce. He mentioned that the promotion threatened him by insinuating his teammates would be affected by his decision, saying:
"I refused to sign the video game agreement, so they cut me from the promotion. And they strong-armed me cause I wasn't gonna stay with them, I was gonna go to Strikeforce, so they threatened to fire all of my teammates if I didn't re-sign with them."
