4 Reasons why Dana White's "fake" jab at the WWE was uncalled for

Known for speaking his mind, Dana White may have transgressed the boundaries of diplomacy with his latest commentsFor a man who is the president of the fastest growing sports franchise in the world, Dana White’s habit of shooting from the hip often leaves much to be desired in the art of diplomacy. Generally notorious for his off-hand and brusque comments, his latest jab on the WWE being “fake” has perhaps been one remark too many, even for someone of the looseness of tongue that the UFC supremo possesses.What started as a casual goad by a WWE fan about the relatively high pricing for the UFC pay-per-views soon escalated into a full-blown twitter outburst once it was clear that White betrayed no intention of retracting his comments. While the WWE and the UFC publically claim to be two different kettles of fish, It is undeniable that a large portion of the pro-wrestling audience base that also lends its eyeballs to MMA has been left flabbergasted at White’s comment; as any pro-wrestling mark would tell you, the ‘f-word’ is a huge no-no.While his controversial comments happily coincided with UFC 190 and could be a cleverly conceived method to attract more eyeballs into the product, the caustic nature of his jibe has ensured that any publicity generated could hardly be described as positive. While no apology or assuaging comment seems forthcoming from Dana White, here is a look at 4 reasons why his “fake” jibe at the WWE was totally uncalled for.

#1 Apples and Oranges

CM Punk was sensitive enough to realise that he needed to be completely re-trained to fight in the UFC

While the product that the WWE puts out is carefully engineered and scripted, it hardly does justice to the scores of wrestlers that have put their bodies on the line for our viewing pleasure to label their efforts as merely “fake.”

Perhaps being the president of the UFC has emboldened his perspective but Dana White is criminally guilty of committing the fallacy that many people fall prey to in attempting to compare pro-wrestling and MMA; while MMA is undeniably the more “real” of the two for the sake of an argument, their purposes could not be more different.

Fighters that step into the Octagon do so with the single minded intention of destroying their opponent, while pro-wrestles that work a match are acutely mindful of their counterpart’s safety. While MMA fighters look to mercilessly exploit any chinks that may reveal themselves in their opponent’s repertoire, pro-wrestlers look to sculpt a match in such a way that their opponent’s weaknesses are plastered over convincingly while effectively highlighting their strengths.

Being in a position that readily garners media attention and scrutiny, one would expect Dana White to fully understand the differences between the two before making any comments of a judgemental nature.

#2 Hypocritical

For a person that refers to the WWE as “fake”, Dana White seems rather welcoming of WWE Superstars into the UFC fold

For the president of the UFC, whose highlight PPV statistics until recently were recorded on the back of the mainstream interest generated by a WWE wrestler, Dana White’s dismissive notion towards pro-wrestling smacks of hypocrisy.

While UFC 100 headlined by Brock Lesnar held all the PPV records until being usurped by UFC 189 and UFC 190 more recently, it is quite conceivable that Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks’ debut inside of an Octagon will present another such pay-day for the company.

For someone who is quite willing to cash in on the mainstream potential of pro-wrestlers, his comments decrying the industry have reflected rather ungraciously on Dana White. Had Brock Lesnar not already been a mega-star with world-wide appeal thanks to his initial stint in the WWE, would he have received a title shot against Randy Couture in just his 4th ever MMA fight?

The chip on Dana White’s shoulder may stem from his misplaced opinion that MMA is superior to pro-wrestling, but even he cannot disagree that many “pure-bred” MMA fighters were overlooked for a title shot in favour of the mainstream attraction and pull that Brock Lesnar, a pro-wrestler, presented the UFC with.

#3 Grueling Schedule

The spots that WWE Superstars pull off on a daily basis inevitably places their bodies in grave danger

If the Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald fight at UFC 189 left audience wondering just how mentally and physically resilient MMA fighters have to be, John Cena’s recent nose disfiguration at the hands of Seth Rollins has reminded fans that pro-wrestling is not without its own fair share of accidents and injuries either.

In fact, the number of wrestlers that have died or been physically rendered incapable due to wrestling related reasons are so substantial that any notion that pro-wrestling is safe or less harmful than MMA is heavily unfounded. As many pro-wrestlers and fans were kind enough to remind Dana with graphic evidence, accidents are commonplace inside of the squared circle, especially given the inhumane schedule that the WWE Superstars have to endure.

While an MMA fighter in the UFC probably fights once or twice in a year, a WWE Superstar is on the road performing on close to 250 to 300 days a year. The one-time risk to a MMA fighter’s well-being is incredibly high during his fight, but discounting or discrediting how pro-wrestlers are continually pushing their bodies and minds to the limit on a daily basis does not at all do justice to the health risks that they constantly flirt with as well.

#4 Disrespectful towards the legacy of pro-wrestling

Dana White’s comments are highly disrespectful towards the wrestlers that paid the ultimate price for the entertainment of the fans

Not only was it a highly misinformed opinion, but Dana White’s refusal to back down from his stance, instead choosing to further repeat it twice, was also very disrespectful towards the wrestlers that have “paid their dues” and kept the industry popular through the years.

As irate fans and pro-wrestlers reminded him, Mick Foley’s partly missing right ear or John Cena’s Picasso-esque nose is the very real price that is paid to entertain the fans. For all the toughness that he espouses, Kurt Angle almost quit pro-wrestling after the first bump that he took. Scientifically, a bump that a pro-wrestler suffers can be compared to being involved in an accident with a vehicle travelling at 20Kmph. To endure such bodily hell on a daily basis is something that eventually takes its toll on the person, and that is not even taking the effect of other bumps and high-risk spots that they execute under consideration.

If wrestling was “fake”, what then would answer for Chris Benoit or his family? Owen Hart’s death was a result of his attempting to entertain the fans despite his fear of heights. Without due consideration to the lives that have been lost and families estranged in service to an industry, branding it as “fake” was a highly disrespectful gesture by a man whose power should also ideally entail greater responsibility to say the right things.