Keith Kizer: Dana White ‘likes to put people down,’

Mark J. Rebilas-USA Today Sports

UFC President Dana White once called veteran mixed martial arts (MMA) official Steve Mazzagatti, “the worst referee in the history of fucking fights,” but Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Keith Kizer says that White just likes to “put people down” because of his “ego.”

Josh Burkman shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world last Friday night (June 14, 2013) when he defeated Jon Fitch in the main event of World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 3, which took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The People’s Warrior” needed less than a minute to secure the submission win by way of guillotine choke (watch replay here).

Following the event, UFC President Dana White slammed the performance of referee Steve Mazzagatti (read it here). The longtime man in black did not stop the fight, nor did he need to, as Burkman simply stood up and left his lifeless foe asleep on the canvas.

Fortunately for Fitch, his conqueror knew when to say when.

But it the wake of Fitchgate, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director (NSAC) Keith Kizer was quick to downplay White’s critique, insisting the “weird” ending of the fight was not based on a judgment call by the official, but rather a series of circumstances that allowed the contest to conclude on its own.

His comments to MMA Fighting:

“It as neither a positive or a negative on the referee. All of us in the arena, and the commentators who know their stuff, were really shocked Jon (Fitch) was out. Steve was right there. He had to walk two steps. He walked two steps and waved off the fight. It was very easy for him, and every easy for Josh as well. It was a weird ending to the fight, but good for Josh. The guy went out and Josh immediately released the hold. What’s weird is he flipped Fitch over, away from the ref. When Josh had the hold, he (Mazzagatti) was one step away. He had a perfect view. Josh flipped him away from the ref, then stood up. I would praise the referee if he did a good job. But here, there’s nothing to talk about the ref. It wasn’t a good job or a bad job. He had no job. I think most people thought Jon was going to get out. Bas (Rutten) and I both thought he was letting go of the hold and transitioning to another hold. The story should be about Josh getting an amazing win, doing the right thing, and releasing the hold. This isn’t about the ref. Dana’s a good guy. Very few people care about other people as much as Dana. But you’ve heard what he’s said about former fighters, former employees, even fighters in his organization. Even Jon Jones. He likes to put people down, whether rightly or wrongly. It’s an ego thing. We all have egos. I think it’s wrong when people lie and you can make your own conclusions on Dana.”

This wasn’t the first time White blasted The Mazz.

He wanted to “blow his brains out” earlier this year when it was learned that Steve-O was in charge of the UFC 156 main event between Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, a happenstance White said he could “spend 45 minutes” complaining about (his rant here).

No matter.

As Mazzagatti said, he doesn’t work for ZUFFA and it’s not his job to make sure the fights end the way a promoter wants them to (comments here). Unfortunately, since White has been so vocal about the shortcomings of his nemesis, it has led to his fighters hopping on the bandwagon when they come up short in a big spot (example).

Two sides to every story fight fans … which one are you taking?

Dana White: Jon Fitch is ‘so full of sh*t’, made over $300K in discretionary bonuses with UFC

USA TODAY Sports/Chris Hall Bloody Elbow

In response to Fitch’s comments on the WSOF 3 media call, Dana let loose in a rant about how well the UFC treated him throughout his tenure.

Only a little over a week away from his first fight since being cut from the UFC, Welterweight Jon Fitch let off some steam about his former employer at the World Series of Fighting 3 conference call on Thursday. Fitch went as far as to say his time with the UFC was like being “in a hostile work environment.” Fitch said he felt like every time he stepped into the Octagon he was fighting for his job.

As expected, UFC president Dana White wasn’t pleased with the statements from Fitch. White told MMA Junkie:

In the time Jon Fitch was with us, we paid him $302,000 in discretionary bonuses – $302,000. That’s money that me and Lorenzo decided to give him above and beyond the deal that he signed. He also made $130,000 on performance bonuses for his two ‘Fight of the Night‘ bonuses. That’s a hostile work environment? Everything that Jon Fitch said is complete and total bull—t.

Jon Fitch said he was working under a hostile work environment and that he never had an opportunity and should have double the wins he had with us,” White said. “He was complaining about what he had to go through here, about people saying stuff under their breath to him and all this bulls—. Jon Fitch is so full of s–t. He’s f—ing delusional. First of all, he had every opportunity that anyone else had. After Georges St-Pierre beat the living s–t out of him, did we treat him differently or anything?

“Just to lay it out with facts, Jon Fitch lost to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 87. He had an opportunity to fight for the title, and he got destroyed in that fight. He fought to a draw with B.J. Penn in a top contender fight. Then he gets a chance to be a No. 1 contender again and gets knocked f—in dead in the first round by Johny Hendricks. What f—ing opportunities has he not been given?

White went on to highlight the major PPV events Fitch has appeared on since losing his title shot at UFC 87. However, Dana neglected to mention that he was dropped to the preliminary card after losing to GSP, that his fight on UFC 100 didn’t air until after the main event, or that he lost his promised contender spot after beating Thiago Alves for the second time at UFC 117. White did point out that Fitch had gone 1-2-1 in the two years before he was cut from the promotion.

Fitch will appear as the main event at WSOF 3 against fellow UFC veteran Josh Burkman. The event will take place on takes place Friday, June 14 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.