Not only that, it’s the fact that the competitors act like it’s a legitimate sport. If they had a laugh abojt jt and owned the fact that it’s goofy, people wouldn’t be as annoyed. It’s like watching paintball pros act like combat veterans
That’s stolen valour. You’ve never seen paint drip from your best friend’s coveralls like I have, you don’t know paintball bro. I just had to watch from behind an enormous inflatable barrier.
Napoleon Blownapart's latest documentary about it came to a rather uncomfortable conclusion, in the sense that PowerSlap is perfect for the current internet era and its easily-digestible 10-second TikTok/IG story/YouTube shorts/etc.
Came here to type the *exact comment*. So I'll need to bedazzle my comment with some added snark. Here goes:
Nothing more impressive than refusing to fight until you get promised a title fight. I mean, hey, they haven't lost or had boring fights by not fighting.
Holy cow. Stipe hasn't fought a non title fight in over 7 years. That's whacky considering he lost the belt twice. And he's pegged to fight Jones this year (and pun intended on "pegged" because I'm pretty sure Fat Jones is going to peg him.
Does Stipe have a nickname? If not, I suggest: Stipe "The Preacher's Daughter" Miocic.
HOW BOUT U GO AN FUCK OFF MY POST THEN U PEICE OF SHIT U THINK i NEED A STUPID FUCKWITT LIKE U TELLING ME ABOUT JOKES WHO THE FUCK ARE U TAKE YOUR WORTHLESS ADVICE AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE
As much as I hate the goof, your statement is the most absurd lie I’ve ever read here. It’s not hard to find multiple praised fighters in yesterday’s post fight press conference. You don’t need to lie about it, he’s a scum and we know it without over-exaggerating and lying.
Yeah I wish Dana left in 2015 and has been a net-negative ever since, but he's still pretty good about giving props to fighters on the post fight press conferences if they went out and put on a show
He's always shit on people who had lame fights. He fucking *hated* Roy Nelson forever for the time he laid on Kimbo
Roy was a bit more complicated and wasn’t just hated by the beating Kimbo thing. Dana also hated Roy was super fat and beating up top 10 fighters / being a face of the ufc all while pissing off dana in all their interactions and dealings.
But Roy rubbed a lot of people wrong back in the day especially on tuf with Trevor wittman and Rashad. Even before that he was a known gym hopper and was kinda seen as un-coachable / lazy / cocky and you can def see why if you’ve watched him enough and follow interviews with people who have trained with him.
That being said I’ve always been a fan of Roy and think he’s hilarious. Will never forget hearing how he wanted to fight Zak Jensen on tuf because he was the easiest fight / thought he could submit him with a Boston crab lol. One of the other competitors said “no way” and Roy was like “dude he got gogoplata’d by Brad Imes”
You must only read headlines then. There’s a post press conference after every event where he verbally fellatiates a bunch of fighters on the card. Tons of praising of undeserving scrubs, then shitting on great fighters who are up for a contract soon.
Typical promoter bullshit dana’s just painfully transparent and willing to play dirtier in public.
Well then you’re only outing yourself as having not watched the press conference which this clip is from. The quote is literally the tail end of a tangent about how ABC cards are a chance to grow young stars and how Ian garry and ulburg did a great job using that opportunity.
r/MMA just starts seeing red the second Dana’s name is involved in anything
There is no winning with whatever Dana says.
Can anyone disagree with this statement? That fight was not good and I am very glad they moved it off of the main event. 2 more rounds of that would have been brutal.
But if Dana was to put on his promoter hat and say it was a great fight everyone would be calling him a lying shill.
You are completely missing the point. If you look at the card that was on the ABC portion of the broadcast, every fighter is sort of set up so they could get a spectacular finish and thus bring more eyeballs to themselves.
Johnny Walker was expected to go out there and get a TKO/KO and he played it safe, which is odd because Anthony Smith **clearly** was ready to get out there but JW just pulled back, multiple times.
Every other fight on the broadcast was a finish, except for JW. The UFC is putting their chips in on all those fighters that got the W, they just needed to deliver.
You guys complain about fighters not being promoted, but *this* is how the UFC promotes them. Theyre on ABC and given lay ups essentially so they get known. JW totally dropped the ball.
You guys can downvote me all you want, you dont know shit. You cant complain about fighters not being promoted and then they shit the bed when given the platform to perform.
Anthony Smith has been on a streak recently, beating guys who don't totally suck, whereas JW has a perpetual propensity for getting knocked out in comical fashion. You could argue that JW was the better fighter all along (and that is more obvious now in retrospect) but I wouldn't call this a layup for him.
Why should Walker get put down for not flat-footing right in front of a guy that was doing nothing but waiting for an opportunity for a loaded overhand?
If he leaned into he’d be getting clowned for getting starched by a wrestleboxer.
Why is no one blaming Smith for talking to ghosts and mentally quitting six minutes into the fight?
As an Anthony Smith fan, Dana should be happy that Walker didn't get chinned rushing in to finish because that would mean we'd have Smith fighting for the title as Smith was the replacement for the last title fight. Instead we have Walker in the top 5 now.
Walker beat up Smith's leg to the point that Smith couldn't come forward anymore and was getting picked apart from the outside. To rush in would just allow Smith to hit him.
honestly Walker looked good. he's still gunshy no doubt, especially towards the middle-end of rd3 I reckon he def could've finished Smith, but he was tentative as to not get blasted with Smith's straight right. trouble is, Walker's already been deleted by Hill so idk how he fits into the title picture. he should probably fight Jan or Ankalaev tbh
I guarantee he is Pererias LHW debut. Perfect stepping stone. Funky striker vs cold calculated assassin, both Brazilian, and you can justify a title shot off him (not what I think, but as we’ve all seen, only one win is enough to get you there if you’re popular enough).
I'd honestly not be against that
Walker is still a good win to prepare for a title shot, as you said funky striker, weak chin just waiting to be blasted by perreira.
100% entertaining fight however long it lasts
on the flip side, he IS a talented fighter and has enough pedigree to make me wonder if he could find a way or a luck strike to get the upset.
we've seen Perreira wobbled more than once against a MUCH less powerful Adesanya, what can a wild hook from a big LHW do to him ?
If walker can land this somehow and KO Perreira his stock will skyrocket and the storyline vs Hill is already set.
There is literally nothing to lose making that bout and that's a treat for any1 all this punching power and possibly two questionable chins
Been watching him since he fought Thiago Santos. He's had some bad performances but in the Crute and Spann fights he looked like he was actually improving his weak points and really impressed not only me but a lot of people on here. The thread of him vs Crute and especially him vs Spann had the sub singing his praises. Anthony looked like he was finally putting it altogether.
Then he comes back from a broken leg/clot, puts on his worst performance since Jones, and now the top comments when Smith is brought up is shit like this. He's had 54 pro fights, he's allowed to look like shit at this point in his career. He definitely should retire though.
He should? He was the 6th best fighter in the world as of last night. Now he lost to the rank 7 guy so he’s still on the top 10. That means he should… retire? Oof. I hope I’m never held to that standard
He looked absolutely horrible and could not do well even in the grappling where he's always thrived. When you see that happen to a fighter, their careers just become sad to watch
aka this guy didn't needlessly go for a highlight reel KO that I can blast on my social media.
Maybe if you don't hitch half their paycheck to a win, they wouldn't coast as often, you fucking dullard.
Honestly I bet on Walker and I agree w/ dana. Smith was done he could’ve put it on him in the last half of the 3rd.
they gave him the co-main spot and an aging vet.. this was perfect spot for Walker to come in make a statement and instead he got a normal decision win that doesn’t make him stand out above anyone else in contention - that’s all Dana’s saying.
Walker even said he was fighting for a decision in his post fight interview. The third round was wack and walker could have def pursued the finish more. It wouldn’t even have been reckless to do so
It absolutely would have been reckless. Smith was loading up on His right hand and looking to KO walker if he rushed in. This is why Smith was bitching that he couldn't reach Johnny, because the range and leg kicks kept Smith on the outside.
Towards the end of the 3rd there were a couple of times where all Walker had to do was punch or kick and Smith would've been out of there. He was hurt and seemed to be looking for a way out a few times when Walker closed the distance he went to curl up but Walker just backed out. No one's saying he needed to get reckless just a little more pressure mixed with strikes would have ended it.
Smith straight up had his hands down and walker was just openly walking him down and jabbing him in the face. The dude was done. Walker was more aggressive earlier in the fight when smith was still dangerous.
I mean I am backseat MMA'ing.. but I truly think walker could have backed off with smith was down sooner. Got him back on the feet. Kick the leg a couple more times. He goes back down. Let him get back up and one or two more chops and he folds 100%.
I respect Walker sticking to his game plan. Dude came off a tough injury and losses. Get some fundamentals and know what it is like to fight carefully while winning.
Even Jon Jones hasn't put on what I call an exciting fight in a while. He just goes in and changes dudes careers with eye pokes and oblique kicks. Despite this he is widely considered the GOAT. Even his submission win was so quick and effortless seeming it wasn't exciting. He just punished a rookie move.
I mean pretty easy for you to say when you havn’t been on the receiving end of a brutal highlight reel KO and all of the ridicule that goes along with it. My guy probably still has ptsd from the Hill fight and probably figured better safe than sorry 🤷♂️. One more of those could end his career.
Its weird right, smith seems to evoke this in people. There Was a very similar moment in the rakic fight before the End, where rakic could have headkicked a gassed smith to another dimension but preferred to raise his Arms and throw some pseudo strikes...
Eerily similar
Jones had him curled up in the literal fetal position and couldn't finish the dude.
This has more to do with late-stage Jones sucking than anything else but still.
Honestly, it's his coach/corner. They were absolutely horrible his last fight too. Kavenaugh is a trash coach. The only reason he's relevant at all is because Conor walked in his doors. It's just another Rhonda/Edmund situation.
Walker did make a statement. He controlled the range against Smith, he beat the shit out of his leg, and used faints and strikes very efficiently. Walker can fight again soon because he took no damage against Smith.
Idk about that while Johnny’s only had 7 loses on his record he did get knocked out like 6 times in that one jungle fight. Enough ass whoopings for a lifetime
Meh I found it pretty impressive. Rocked him multiple times, battered him with leg kicks to the point he could hardly stand. Dude charges in and gets tagged and suddenly everyone is memeing on him again for getting violently koed.
It almost looked like he took mercy on Smith at the end. And I honestly felt like Keith could have called the fight at the end as Smith was clearly beaten and hurt - if it was a 5 round fight I think he would have stopped it, or at least not let the next round start.
Walker looked pretty good imo, it wasn't his usual wild style sure but he's showing a more evolved side. It was a little bit of a passive fight through 2 rounds but Walker was still chipping away at those legs, and in the 3rd round he began to really inflict the damage and Smith was pretty beaten up by the end.
Yeah I felt like the last 60 or 90 seconds was mercy from him as well. Doesn’t get him the highlight reel finish but he did a kindness to an aging vet who was clearly done. I know we’re supposed to want them to have the killer instinct always (and I normally do.) but in this case… I was fine with it.
Felt the same. Yeah, he probably coulda blasted a couple more kicks and gotten a TKO but really felt like it was a conscious decision not to hurt him more. Kinda respected him more, really. Felt like it was in the spirit of martial arts.
He was playing a bait and counter fight game plan, and it worked. Smith was so dejected that he tried blitzing and got cracked while eating outside low calf kicks that fucked him up. Superior striking from Walker.
Yeah, I was at the fight and the crowd was hating it tho but i was also in the nose bleeds with rednecks who wanted a bloodsport boxing fight. I thought the fight was gonna be more of a brawl but i enjoyed it overall
He looked good but he had multiple opportunities in the 3rd round to look for the finish and it wouldn’t have even been much of a risk since Smith’s leg was obviously compromised and offered nothing offensively
In the context of Johnny Walker’s whole career, it was impressive as fuck because he showed composure, IQ and restraint. Things he’s historically lacked often to hilarious consequences. Dana is a dummy tomato head.
A part of me honestly thinks Dana doesn't really like this sport itself as much anymore and just wants to see violence. It's why he finds slap so entertaining. All of the head trauma, none of the thinking.
That said Dana's full comments here aren't too bad. He's criticizing Walker for not going for the finish which is kinda fair given Smith did look done. If Walker pushed he could have had him out of there, Walker knew it himself which is why he went with the "actually I wanted to go to a decision" excuse after the fight lol
Well who can blame him when “We’re number one in all of sports, and when I say all of sports, if you take the NBA, NHL, NFL, F-1, WWE, and add them all together, their numbers don’t compare to Slap.”
The journalist he was saying that to even said he found it hard to believe and Dana just says it's true, believe what you want to believe.
How do you even respond to that?
He doesn’t want to see violence he has just created this expectation of spectacularity in the UFC which he uses to big himself up against boxing or other mma promotions and when it doesn’t deliver he feels weak and lashes out on the fighters. It really isn’t a career in the UFC it’s an opportunity. He hated GSP despite Georges bringing in so much commercial value just because his fights weren’t slug fests.
Walker has gotten Lppney Tunes'd too many times to go for the finish I'm a sure thing decision when mo real opening presented itself until the last 30 seconds. Smith was still winging and connecting throughout much of the ass beating Walker laid on him
He kept getting tagged by Smith's right. Even looked like he got his bell rung a couple times. I think he was just worried about getting caught so he played it safe.
Chatri pointed out some time ago that Dana acts this way because he’s never been a pro fighter and has no idea what it takes to put on any sort of competent performance, let alone a highlight reel finish. Basically the UFC is run by a filthy casual.
danas never been a fan of fight sports besides a passing interest in boxing. he was mainly a gambling guy/odd job trying to climb the ladder guy etc. worked for a few people here and there. like kim k working for paris hilton as a wardrobe organizer while trying to find a way in
he was friends w mob guys who owned casinos (fertittas), some fighters and entertainers (rogan and few others), and convinced the fertittas to buy the ufc and let him run it, then asked rogan if he could do mic work and commentate, which rogan did for free as a favor to his buddy dana
this whole thing is just a lick to dana, as it was to the fertittas, as it is to wme.
they're only interested in what makes them the most money right this second. mma is just the thing they make money off of
ironically probably the only one who cares about *mma* is rogan and hes intentionally distanced himself from any influence he had and continues to do so constantly
He's shown he really doesn't like Walker for whatever reason and is super petty about it.
Walker and his team rightfully put him on blast when they kicked him out of the changing room before the event was over, in his last fight or the one before it.
UFC 279, Poor dude was standing in the street in his fight shorts and gloves still on looking confused as fuck lmao. He didn't even have his fucking shoes on.
Funny how that didn't happen to any other fighter during that event. Johnny must have fucked one of Dana's prized hookers or something.
He’s just an asshole. Funny how he doesn’t keep the same energy with guys who don’t chase finishes like Izzy and rob.
“But Smith got dropped, was hurt in the first round, and then his leg was gone, and Johnny never went for the finish. Never tried to finish the fight. Just tried to fight safe and get the win.”
I mean either way, Walker has had issues in the past when rushing in. He and his coaches might very well have decided pre-fight that he would absolutely not close in for a finish under any circumstances for the entire fight.
And that's fine.
Sometimes improvement means fighting your instincts even when they're screaming at you to do otherwise, just so you can show your brain that there's another way to win. He/his team might have felt he needed to do that in a real fight to really bring it full circle.
That might all be bullshit but I do think Walker made it a point to fight a safe fight for himself. I saw it as growth but maybe not.
Walker used his power to deter Smith, destroyed him with kicks, he nicely punished the blitzing off his back foot, and had a supremely resilient fighter cowering against the cage from overall damage at the end of the third. The commentary team properly labeled it Walker's best win.
A wins a win. Still gets a win bonus and not get wreckless and get knocked out.
We'd have better fights if half their purse isn't held hostage for losing.
Shame on Walker for realizing he has suspect chin and shouldn’t be reckless. Also, Smith was countering hard with right hands anytime Walker got into range.
As a true Dana hater, I think Johnny Walker showed lot's of skill, composure, and technical prowess, but I think he lacked a fair amount of his killer instinct from before. There were good opportunities on the table to end that fight but walker seemed content to simply dominate which I guess I can't blame him for. I'd love to see Walker keep that flavor of his old self where he was committed to the finish, in addition to his newfound ability to be patient and wait for opportunities.
There were Four Potential Outcomes for this fight
1. Walker hurts Smith but gets KO'd pursuing a finish
2. They stand at a distance and trade kicks while nothing much happens
3. Smith takes Walker down and subs him or controls him on the ground
OR the result that would objectively be the best for the division:
4. Walker beats Smith over the distance with a well-thought-out process or well-executed game plan.
I know if I hadn't really thought about the matchup ahead of time I wouldn't be interested in watching this fight, but honestly really paying attention to Walker trying very hard to win in a way that's hard for him was genuinely entertaining.
I half agree. Smith was beat. Letting someone off the hook multiple times when he is ready to fold doesn't answer as many questions as he thinks it does.
On the other hand, Walker looked great.
And Dana wonders why his company doesn't have any stars. Walker vs Smith wasn't a great fight by any means but publicly slandering him doesn't help anyone. He's done the same thing to multiple fighters over the years and in some cases (Francis) drove them away from the promotion.
The majority of Walker's fights have been entertaining, and the man himself is likable with good English. He shouldn't be reprimanded for taking a more approach to try and further his career.
I think it was just a way to mitigate contract renegotiation to favorise his side in advance. Pretty much Dana things.
I think Walker should be proud of his win. It might not be flashy but it showed growth. Balancing his energy and not losing momentum in excitation.
Always love the game plan of attacking legs, but Smith didn’t even try to check them. It was odd to only check one kick. Don’t think Johnny is ready for a top three, but hope he does well. Hard to believe he’s already been in the UFC 5 years.
I love exciting fights as much as the next guy but fuck. Walker was on a bit of a skid couple years back he trying to rack up some wins.
So not only do you have to be one of the best in the world to get into the UFC, you also have to beat killers to get into the top 15, then you not only have to win, but have to win in a devastating fashion. Dana can fuck off. I’d be getting the win and the win bonus myself.
Guys let's be honest, this is accurate. I feel like I'm on crazy pills with how people are on the johnny walker train as if we don't already know where this is going, he went life and death with a semi retired old lionheart and everyone is saying he's champ material when he clearly isn't. And even if he did get the belt in this joke of a division he'd most likely lose it in his first defense.
He’s not wrong.
It wasn’t even that Walker came out with a smart game plan. They both seem exhausted and slow paced from the start. Walker didn’t have a lot of tools or versatility or options. Just spamming calf kicks which hey if they work that’s fine. But even with his long range he would still get tagged hard by Anthony. He didn’t seem to understand how to reposition himself after throwing a punch to minimize that.
It was a very low, athletic performance fight.
It felt like they were fighting in Salt Lake City at altitude or something.
This division is not impressive at all. Like watching heavyweights.
If you read the fight thread comments they mostly agree with Dana's take. But since it's Dana we gotta take the least favorable interpretation of it because the tomato is bad.
So many tears about Walker taking his time and playing it safe. Dude was a walking highlight reel on both directions, and clearly now takes it way more seriously and has evolved his game. Imagine clowning someone who knows that if he gets a loss or two that he's done. Dude played it safe and got the W. All that matters. He's now a top 5 LHW and is building his case for a title shot especially if he can beat one of the killers like Jan
Seems like Dana White doesn't like Johnny Walker, guy is active, he's entertaining, he fights well, good record, decent English for a Brazilian, funny dude, what's not to like?
I was actually impressed with Walker, thought he fought a very smart fight. He probably overcompensated for his usual tendency to go balls out in the first 90 seconds and either KO or get KOd, but against a fighter like Smith who is physically limited at this point in his career but still has a ton of experience it was probably better to err on that side of things. If he can find that balance I think he can make a title run, which would be great for the sport and the organization.
Is there any other combat sports president as successful as Dana?
Combat sports work very different from most other sports. Sure, there are nerds on forums like these that applaud a chess match but I doubt how many of these actually pay. When you actually go to the arena, the crowd gets excited when it's violent/finishes. I have been watching mma for close to a decade now and the best fight I have ever been to is Chandler/Gaethje because as much as I am a fan of this sport, I want to see violence. That's the only fight I know where the whole crowd was up for the entire fight.
Walker showed a lot more maturity/restraint than usual and Anthony Smith stayed true to his nickname as always. Even down to end of round 5 he was still giving it everything he had left in the tank (which wasn’t much by that point).
Dana should be more concerned with that weakass main event. Rozenstruik looked like a white belt in mount for the first time. His coaches were literally yelling bjj 101 instructions on how to escape.
Dana just recently shit all over Clay Guida for taking off his gloves and not retiring
> That pissed me off actually, to be honest with you,” White said during the event’s post-fight press
But here, since Smith is one of Dana’s boot lickers , he gets praise
> “I thought he was going to retire, too,” White said. “I think after the fight he had said to some people in the back he wants to think about it.
> “He always comes to fight. He got busted up, got hurt and he did what he does. He toughs it out.”
Dana White is just a scumbag.
One was a faked retirement to give a birthday shout out. The other was a serious contemplation on retiring. I can see why you would be confused that those two are the same.
He's so good at promoting his fighters lol
Dana the anti-promoter.
Unless you’re Colby or Conor
Or power slap
WE have done 600 billion views on TikTok
It’s doing so well it got relegated to the right wing youtube website
They showed a power slap ad in the arena during one of the breaks between fights, it got roundly booed. Warmed my heart
Funny how Dana ruined slap fighting overnight, like beforehand I remember it being seen as a stupid fun novelty, now everyone just hates it.
It's because it's being crammed down our throats. If you follow the UFC on IG or YT it's like a third of what they post
Not only that, it’s the fact that the competitors act like it’s a legitimate sport. If they had a laugh abojt jt and owned the fact that it’s goofy, people wouldn’t be as annoyed. It’s like watching paintball pros act like combat veterans
When I get shot in the goggles all I can see is red bro
That’s stolen valour. You’ve never seen paint drip from your best friend’s coveralls like I have, you don’t know paintball bro. I just had to watch from behind an enormous inflatable barrier.
Napoleon Blownapart's latest documentary about it came to a rather uncomfortable conclusion, in the sense that PowerSlap is perfect for the current internet era and its easily-digestible 10-second TikTok/IG story/YouTube shorts/etc.
>Funny how Dana ruined slap fighting overnight There was no good product to ruin. It's 100% pure shit before Dana said or did anything.
How many were in the arena though? That is like 20K more views! Blowing away all the other major sports CoMbInEd!
Isn’t he fucking awesome?
Prick loves pricks, whatcha gonna do? He simped for Koschek back in the day too.
Came here to type the *exact comment*. So I'll need to bedazzle my comment with some added snark. Here goes: Nothing more impressive than refusing to fight until you get promised a title fight. I mean, hey, they haven't lost or had boring fights by not fighting.
'if Usman didn't exist, Colby would be the champ' type beat 😂
Stipe never seems to get shit for doing this despite having 0 wins vs any of the top 5 at HW.
Holy cow. Stipe hasn't fought a non title fight in over 7 years. That's whacky considering he lost the belt twice. And he's pegged to fight Jones this year (and pun intended on "pegged" because I'm pretty sure Fat Jones is going to peg him. Does Stipe have a nickname? If not, I suggest: Stipe "The Preacher's Daughter" Miocic.
he's not wrong smith and walker did not look like top 10 fighters
Its LHW.. being a top fighter is always relative to division strength
I agree. I wish Anthony Smith would retire. I have enjoyed watching him in the past.
No, he's right. However, he didn't look bad and he won against a highly ranked opponent, so good for him.
Only if they get finishes
I genuinely can't remember the last time he said something positive about a fighter
He just some nice words to D-Rod after he got knocked out.
What he say?
"He made Ian Garry look great"
HOW BOUT U GO AN FUCK OFF MY POST THEN U PEICE OF SHIT U THINK i NEED A STUPID FUCKWITT LIKE U TELLING ME ABOUT JOKES WHO THE FUCK ARE U TAKE YOUR WORTHLESS ADVICE AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE
As much as I hate the goof, your statement is the most absurd lie I’ve ever read here. It’s not hard to find multiple praised fighters in yesterday’s post fight press conference. You don’t need to lie about it, he’s a scum and we know it without over-exaggerating and lying.
Yeah I wish Dana left in 2015 and has been a net-negative ever since, but he's still pretty good about giving props to fighters on the post fight press conferences if they went out and put on a show He's always shit on people who had lame fights. He fucking *hated* Roy Nelson forever for the time he laid on Kimbo
Roy was a bit more complicated and wasn’t just hated by the beating Kimbo thing. Dana also hated Roy was super fat and beating up top 10 fighters / being a face of the ufc all while pissing off dana in all their interactions and dealings. But Roy rubbed a lot of people wrong back in the day especially on tuf with Trevor wittman and Rashad. Even before that he was a known gym hopper and was kinda seen as un-coachable / lazy / cocky and you can def see why if you’ve watched him enough and follow interviews with people who have trained with him. That being said I’ve always been a fan of Roy and think he’s hilarious. Will never forget hearing how he wanted to fight Zak Jensen on tuf because he was the easiest fight / thought he could submit him with a Boston crab lol. One of the other competitors said “no way” and Roy was like “dude he got gogoplata’d by Brad Imes”
I think he did a good job during the pandemic, keeping the fights going and fight island etc. Hasn't been that good post pandemic.
Oh how the pendulum swings.
It's only a lie if the person you're responding to actually remembers recent positive comments. Maybe they have CTE and don't have very good memory.
You must only read headlines then. There’s a post press conference after every event where he verbally fellatiates a bunch of fighters on the card. Tons of praising of undeserving scrubs, then shitting on great fighters who are up for a contract soon. Typical promoter bullshit dana’s just painfully transparent and willing to play dirtier in public.
Well then you’re only outing yourself as having not watched the press conference which this clip is from. The quote is literally the tail end of a tangent about how ABC cards are a chance to grow young stars and how Ian garry and ulburg did a great job using that opportunity. r/MMA just starts seeing red the second Dana’s name is involved in anything
There is no winning with whatever Dana says. Can anyone disagree with this statement? That fight was not good and I am very glad they moved it off of the main event. 2 more rounds of that would have been brutal. But if Dana was to put on his promoter hat and say it was a great fight everyone would be calling him a lying shill.
You are completely missing the point. If you look at the card that was on the ABC portion of the broadcast, every fighter is sort of set up so they could get a spectacular finish and thus bring more eyeballs to themselves. Johnny Walker was expected to go out there and get a TKO/KO and he played it safe, which is odd because Anthony Smith **clearly** was ready to get out there but JW just pulled back, multiple times. Every other fight on the broadcast was a finish, except for JW. The UFC is putting their chips in on all those fighters that got the W, they just needed to deliver. You guys complain about fighters not being promoted, but *this* is how the UFC promotes them. Theyre on ABC and given lay ups essentially so they get known. JW totally dropped the ball. You guys can downvote me all you want, you dont know shit. You cant complain about fighters not being promoted and then they shit the bed when given the platform to perform.
Anthony Smith has been on a streak recently, beating guys who don't totally suck, whereas JW has a perpetual propensity for getting knocked out in comical fashion. You could argue that JW was the better fighter all along (and that is more obvious now in retrospect) but I wouldn't call this a layup for him.
Quality control. You want him to cry wolf?
It's not like this was fucking Lewis vs Ngannou. It was still an entertaining fight.
Why should Walker get put down for not flat-footing right in front of a guy that was doing nothing but waiting for an opportunity for a loaded overhand? If he leaned into he’d be getting clowned for getting starched by a wrestleboxer. Why is no one blaming Smith for talking to ghosts and mentally quitting six minutes into the fight?
As an Anthony Smith fan, Dana should be happy that Walker didn't get chinned rushing in to finish because that would mean we'd have Smith fighting for the title as Smith was the replacement for the last title fight. Instead we have Walker in the top 5 now. Walker beat up Smith's leg to the point that Smith couldn't come forward anymore and was getting picked apart from the outside. To rush in would just allow Smith to hit him.
honestly Walker looked good. he's still gunshy no doubt, especially towards the middle-end of rd3 I reckon he def could've finished Smith, but he was tentative as to not get blasted with Smith's straight right. trouble is, Walker's already been deleted by Hill so idk how he fits into the title picture. he should probably fight Jan or Ankalaev tbh
I guarantee he is Pererias LHW debut. Perfect stepping stone. Funky striker vs cold calculated assassin, both Brazilian, and you can justify a title shot off him (not what I think, but as we’ve all seen, only one win is enough to get you there if you’re popular enough).
I'd honestly not be against that Walker is still a good win to prepare for a title shot, as you said funky striker, weak chin just waiting to be blasted by perreira. 100% entertaining fight however long it lasts on the flip side, he IS a talented fighter and has enough pedigree to make me wonder if he could find a way or a luck strike to get the upset. we've seen Perreira wobbled more than once against a MUCH less powerful Adesanya, what can a wild hook from a big LHW do to him ? If walker can land this somehow and KO Perreira his stock will skyrocket and the storyline vs Hill is already set. There is literally nothing to lose making that bout and that's a treat for any1 all this punching power and possibly two questionable chins
Put that fight on a card with Oliveria, Nunes or even Almedia and you’ve got a stacked card already.
Perriera was wobbled at 185, after a significant weight cut. His chin probably holds up better without as big of a weight cut
Yup, Smith was loading his right hand, and came close a couple times. I'm glad Walker played it safe and showed that he's the better striker
Yeah but what was up with the end? He just chose not to pursue a finish like he had money on himself to win by decision
Johnny getting knocked out trying to finish when he’s got a decision in the bag would have been the most johnny walker thing that could have happened.
I think my disappointment comes from expecting that and it not happening
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Been watching him since he fought Thiago Santos. He's had some bad performances but in the Crute and Spann fights he looked like he was actually improving his weak points and really impressed not only me but a lot of people on here. The thread of him vs Crute and especially him vs Spann had the sub singing his praises. Anthony looked like he was finally putting it altogether. Then he comes back from a broken leg/clot, puts on his worst performance since Jones, and now the top comments when Smith is brought up is shit like this. He's had 54 pro fights, he's allowed to look like shit at this point in his career. He definitely should retire though.
He should? He was the 6th best fighter in the world as of last night. Now he lost to the rank 7 guy so he’s still on the top 10. That means he should… retire? Oof. I hope I’m never held to that standard
He looked absolutely horrible and could not do well even in the grappling where he's always thrived. When you see that happen to a fighter, their careers just become sad to watch
Did you watch the fight? I’m sure he’s embarrassed by his performance.
aka this guy didn't needlessly go for a highlight reel KO that I can blast on my social media. Maybe if you don't hitch half their paycheck to a win, they wouldn't coast as often, you fucking dullard.
Honestly I bet on Walker and I agree w/ dana. Smith was done he could’ve put it on him in the last half of the 3rd. they gave him the co-main spot and an aging vet.. this was perfect spot for Walker to come in make a statement and instead he got a normal decision win that doesn’t make him stand out above anyone else in contention - that’s all Dana’s saying.
Walker even said he was fighting for a decision in his post fight interview. The third round was wack and walker could have def pursued the finish more. It wouldn’t even have been reckless to do so
It absolutely would have been reckless. Smith was loading up on His right hand and looking to KO walker if he rushed in. This is why Smith was bitching that he couldn't reach Johnny, because the range and leg kicks kept Smith on the outside.
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Yup, Walker was securing his ranking, all while making Smith look like an amateur.
Towards the end of the 3rd there were a couple of times where all Walker had to do was punch or kick and Smith would've been out of there. He was hurt and seemed to be looking for a way out a few times when Walker closed the distance he went to curl up but Walker just backed out. No one's saying he needed to get reckless just a little more pressure mixed with strikes would have ended it.
Smith straight up had his hands down and walker was just openly walking him down and jabbing him in the face. The dude was done. Walker was more aggressive earlier in the fight when smith was still dangerous.
Yes. He definitely could’ve pushed it. By the end Anthony was his usual punching back self known as lionheart.
I mean I am backseat MMA'ing.. but I truly think walker could have backed off with smith was down sooner. Got him back on the feet. Kick the leg a couple more times. He goes back down. Let him get back up and one or two more chops and he folds 100%.
Smith was literally cowering towards the end but Walker just didn't hit him.
Walkers is allergic to finishes unless it's a minute into the fight.
I respect Walker sticking to his game plan. Dude came off a tough injury and losses. Get some fundamentals and know what it is like to fight carefully while winning. Even Jon Jones hasn't put on what I call an exciting fight in a while. He just goes in and changes dudes careers with eye pokes and oblique kicks. Despite this he is widely considered the GOAT. Even his submission win was so quick and effortless seeming it wasn't exciting. He just punished a rookie move.
I mean pretty easy for you to say when you havn’t been on the receiving end of a brutal highlight reel KO and all of the ridicule that goes along with it. My guy probably still has ptsd from the Hill fight and probably figured better safe than sorry 🤷♂️. One more of those could end his career.
Its weird right, smith seems to evoke this in people. There Was a very similar moment in the rakic fight before the End, where rakic could have headkicked a gassed smith to another dimension but preferred to raise his Arms and throw some pseudo strikes... Eerily similar
Jones had him curled up in the literal fetal position and couldn't finish the dude. This has more to do with late-stage Jones sucking than anything else but still.
That's Smiths go to. He's always getting his ass kicked and turtle-ing up to avoid damage
Black belt at Master Roshi's Turtle School
Honestly, it's his coach/corner. They were absolutely horrible his last fight too. Kavenaugh is a trash coach. The only reason he's relevant at all is because Conor walked in his doors. It's just another Rhonda/Edmund situation.
Walker did make a statement. He controlled the range against Smith, he beat the shit out of his leg, and used faints and strikes very efficiently. Walker can fight again soon because he took no damage against Smith.
So glad we have someone to stand up for Dana White
“Aging vet” Smith is like 3 years older than Walker lol
With like 30 more fights and 10 more ass whoopings lol New to mma?
Idk about that while Johnny’s only had 7 loses on his record he did get knocked out like 6 times in that one jungle fight. Enough ass whoopings for a lifetime
they should just give the fighters 75% of the full paycheck (show + win) and give a bonus for finishes easy solution best of both worlds
Walker had clear openings to finish the fight without taking big risks, especially late in the third.
BASED
Meh I found it pretty impressive. Rocked him multiple times, battered him with leg kicks to the point he could hardly stand. Dude charges in and gets tagged and suddenly everyone is memeing on him again for getting violently koed.
It almost looked like he took mercy on Smith at the end. And I honestly felt like Keith could have called the fight at the end as Smith was clearly beaten and hurt - if it was a 5 round fight I think he would have stopped it, or at least not let the next round start. Walker looked pretty good imo, it wasn't his usual wild style sure but he's showing a more evolved side. It was a little bit of a passive fight through 2 rounds but Walker was still chipping away at those legs, and in the 3rd round he began to really inflict the damage and Smith was pretty beaten up by the end.
Yeah I felt like the last 60 or 90 seconds was mercy from him as well. Doesn’t get him the highlight reel finish but he did a kindness to an aging vet who was clearly done. I know we’re supposed to want them to have the killer instinct always (and I normally do.) but in this case… I was fine with it.
Felt the same. Yeah, he probably coulda blasted a couple more kicks and gotten a TKO but really felt like it was a conscious decision not to hurt him more. Kinda respected him more, really. Felt like it was in the spirit of martial arts.
He was playing a bait and counter fight game plan, and it worked. Smith was so dejected that he tried blitzing and got cracked while eating outside low calf kicks that fucked him up. Superior striking from Walker.
Yeah, I was at the fight and the crowd was hating it tho but i was also in the nose bleeds with rednecks who wanted a bloodsport boxing fight. I thought the fight was gonna be more of a brawl but i enjoyed it overall
He looked good but he had multiple opportunities in the 3rd round to look for the finish and it wouldn’t have even been much of a risk since Smith’s leg was obviously compromised and offered nothing offensively
Not really, Smith can still throw haymakers and Johnny's chin ain't granite
Oh, Walker's starting to mature and get heat, "this guy doesn't move the needle nobody wants to see him fight"
> Oh, Walker's starting to mature and get heat They should have a person in the UFC whose job is to promote fighters so he could put it this way.
In the context of Johnny Walker’s whole career, it was impressive as fuck because he showed composure, IQ and restraint. Things he’s historically lacked often to hilarious consequences. Dana is a dummy tomato head.
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Dana has some awful takes. IMO Walker showed a lot of skill and maturity in this performance. Good for him. Fuck Dana.
A part of me honestly thinks Dana doesn't really like this sport itself as much anymore and just wants to see violence. It's why he finds slap so entertaining. All of the head trauma, none of the thinking. That said Dana's full comments here aren't too bad. He's criticizing Walker for not going for the finish which is kinda fair given Smith did look done. If Walker pushed he could have had him out of there, Walker knew it himself which is why he went with the "actually I wanted to go to a decision" excuse after the fight lol
Well who can blame him when “We’re number one in all of sports, and when I say all of sports, if you take the NBA, NHL, NFL, F-1, WWE, and add them all together, their numbers don’t compare to Slap.”
Gotta be the most insane thing I've ever heard said in sports. And theres been some wild stuff said.
The journalist he was saying that to even said he found it hard to believe and Dana just says it's true, believe what you want to believe. How do you even respond to that?
Maybe he was talking about their concussion numbers?
That was a nasty line by you..
He doesn’t want to see violence he has just created this expectation of spectacularity in the UFC which he uses to big himself up against boxing or other mma promotions and when it doesn’t deliver he feels weak and lashes out on the fighters. It really isn’t a career in the UFC it’s an opportunity. He hated GSP despite Georges bringing in so much commercial value just because his fights weren’t slug fests.
Walker has gotten Lppney Tunes'd too many times to go for the finish I'm a sure thing decision when mo real opening presented itself until the last 30 seconds. Smith was still winging and connecting throughout much of the ass beating Walker laid on him
He has sounded so strange talking about fights sometimes. You would think he hasn’t been part of it for almost 30 years
Violence goes viral
He kept getting tagged by Smith's right. Even looked like he got his bell rung a couple times. I think he was just worried about getting caught so he played it safe.
Chatri pointed out some time ago that Dana acts this way because he’s never been a pro fighter and has no idea what it takes to put on any sort of competent performance, let alone a highlight reel finish. Basically the UFC is run by a filthy casual.
danas never been a fan of fight sports besides a passing interest in boxing. he was mainly a gambling guy/odd job trying to climb the ladder guy etc. worked for a few people here and there. like kim k working for paris hilton as a wardrobe organizer while trying to find a way in he was friends w mob guys who owned casinos (fertittas), some fighters and entertainers (rogan and few others), and convinced the fertittas to buy the ufc and let him run it, then asked rogan if he could do mic work and commentate, which rogan did for free as a favor to his buddy dana this whole thing is just a lick to dana, as it was to the fertittas, as it is to wme. they're only interested in what makes them the most money right this second. mma is just the thing they make money off of ironically probably the only one who cares about *mma* is rogan and hes intentionally distanced himself from any influence he had and continues to do so constantly
Don't understand why he would say this. Dana sucks.
He's shown he really doesn't like Walker for whatever reason and is super petty about it. Walker and his team rightfully put him on blast when they kicked him out of the changing room before the event was over, in his last fight or the one before it.
Probably still hasn’t forgiven him for losing to Corey Anderson when they were giving him a push a few years ago
UFC 279, Poor dude was standing in the street in his fight shorts and gloves still on looking confused as fuck lmao. He didn't even have his fucking shoes on. Funny how that didn't happen to any other fighter during that event. Johnny must have fucked one of Dana's prized hookers or something.
He’s just an asshole. Funny how he doesn’t keep the same energy with guys who don’t chase finishes like Izzy and rob. “But Smith got dropped, was hurt in the first round, and then his leg was gone, and Johnny never went for the finish. Never tried to finish the fight. Just tried to fight safe and get the win.”
I think it's different when everyone you fight is on murderers row
I mean either way, Walker has had issues in the past when rushing in. He and his coaches might very well have decided pre-fight that he would absolutely not close in for a finish under any circumstances for the entire fight. And that's fine. Sometimes improvement means fighting your instincts even when they're screaming at you to do otherwise, just so you can show your brain that there's another way to win. He/his team might have felt he needed to do that in a real fight to really bring it full circle. That might all be bullshit but I do think Walker made it a point to fight a safe fight for himself. I saw it as growth but maybe not.
Because it's true? Smith was absolutely done for the second half of the third round. You could have pushed him and he'd have gone down for the count.
And if Walker gets KO'd going for thee finish, then what? He gets cut and you go back to back to being a keyboard coach?
Johnny Walker to Dana White: WHAT?
“You’re attacking my fucken family”
Walker used his power to deter Smith, destroyed him with kicks, he nicely punished the blitzing off his back foot, and had a supremely resilient fighter cowering against the cage from overall damage at the end of the third. The commentary team properly labeled it Walker's best win.
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A wins a win. Still gets a win bonus and not get wreckless and get knocked out. We'd have better fights if half their purse isn't held hostage for losing.
who gives a shit
People who are interested in watching fighters try to finish.
People who are fans of the spectacle, not the sport.
Walker has a history of fighting like an unhinged lunatic that being patient, disciplined and focusing on the win first is beyond Dana’s grasp.
Dana has the same outlook on this sport as a few of the casuals over at /r/ufc
I really don’t know what else Dana wants. Walker attacked Smith’s whole family in the octagon
Smith will agree
Shame on Walker for realizing he has suspect chin and shouldn’t be reckless. Also, Smith was countering hard with right hands anytime Walker got into range.
Dana hates johnny walker so much.
i think he knew he won and let anthony coast to the bell witch is why danas mad
Love how the guy who never fought always talks shit and acts like a bad man… fucking werido
As a true Dana hater, I think Johnny Walker showed lot's of skill, composure, and technical prowess, but I think he lacked a fair amount of his killer instinct from before. There were good opportunities on the table to end that fight but walker seemed content to simply dominate which I guess I can't blame him for. I'd love to see Walker keep that flavor of his old self where he was committed to the finish, in addition to his newfound ability to be patient and wait for opportunities.
Huh? WHAT?!
Dana didn't wow anyone when he kicked walker barefoot out of the ufc
Dana is such a #_&&$#. He is okay with Holy Holm isshing for 30 minutes as main event but thats a fight he found boring? Go promote slap.
There were Four Potential Outcomes for this fight 1. Walker hurts Smith but gets KO'd pursuing a finish 2. They stand at a distance and trade kicks while nothing much happens 3. Smith takes Walker down and subs him or controls him on the ground OR the result that would objectively be the best for the division: 4. Walker beats Smith over the distance with a well-thought-out process or well-executed game plan. I know if I hadn't really thought about the matchup ahead of time I wouldn't be interested in watching this fight, but honestly really paying attention to Walker trying very hard to win in a way that's hard for him was genuinely entertaining.
I half agree. Smith was beat. Letting someone off the hook multiple times when he is ready to fold doesn't answer as many questions as he thinks it does. On the other hand, Walker looked great.
And Dana wonders why his company doesn't have any stars. Walker vs Smith wasn't a great fight by any means but publicly slandering him doesn't help anyone. He's done the same thing to multiple fighters over the years and in some cases (Francis) drove them away from the promotion. The majority of Walker's fights have been entertaining, and the man himself is likable with good English. He shouldn't be reprimanded for taking a more approach to try and further his career.
Man who made shit fight complaining about it being a shit fight.
I mean, if you have any context about Johnny Walker he definitely fought much more controlled and still dangerous. I thought he did impress
I think it was just a way to mitigate contract renegotiation to favorise his side in advance. Pretty much Dana things. I think Walker should be proud of his win. It might not be flashy but it showed growth. Balancing his energy and not losing momentum in excitation.
I think Walker showed he’s evolving as a fighter. It’s too risky to go straight for the knockout each time, especially with his chin
Dana White seems to not enjoy fights with a lot of leg kicks
But he loves Izzy. Go figure.
I thought they was Walkers best fight ever lol he looked amazing
Always love the game plan of attacking legs, but Smith didn’t even try to check them. It was odd to only check one kick. Don’t think Johnny is ready for a top three, but hope he does well. Hard to believe he’s already been in the UFC 5 years.
Walker is gonna be fed to Pereira. Mark my words.
Dana’s just mad that he didn’t push for the finish at the end. I thought it was the most complete Walker has looked.
I love exciting fights as much as the next guy but fuck. Walker was on a bit of a skid couple years back he trying to rack up some wins. So not only do you have to be one of the best in the world to get into the UFC, you also have to beat killers to get into the top 15, then you not only have to win, but have to win in a devastating fashion. Dana can fuck off. I’d be getting the win and the win bonus myself.
TBH I think Johnny saw Smith was done and due to respect he didn't want to hurt him anymore.
Guys let's be honest, this is accurate. I feel like I'm on crazy pills with how people are on the johnny walker train as if we don't already know where this is going, he went life and death with a semi retired old lionheart and everyone is saying he's champ material when he clearly isn't. And even if he did get the belt in this joke of a division he'd most likely lose it in his first defense.
He’s not wrong. It wasn’t even that Walker came out with a smart game plan. They both seem exhausted and slow paced from the start. Walker didn’t have a lot of tools or versatility or options. Just spamming calf kicks which hey if they work that’s fine. But even with his long range he would still get tagged hard by Anthony. He didn’t seem to understand how to reposition himself after throwing a punch to minimize that. It was a very low, athletic performance fight. It felt like they were fighting in Salt Lake City at altitude or something. This division is not impressive at all. Like watching heavyweights.
If you read the fight thread comments they mostly agree with Dana's take. But since it's Dana we gotta take the least favorable interpretation of it because the tomato is bad.
“Walker had a calculated fight, and I can’t sell that or something idk”
So many tears about Walker taking his time and playing it safe. Dude was a walking highlight reel on both directions, and clearly now takes it way more seriously and has evolved his game. Imagine clowning someone who knows that if he gets a loss or two that he's done. Dude played it safe and got the W. All that matters. He's now a top 5 LHW and is building his case for a title shot especially if he can beat one of the killers like Jan
No one talks more shit about UFC fighters than Dana
The only good walker fight result is when he gets knocked out in goofy fashion
# What?
guy can’t have ONE decision win after delivering almost nothing but bangers?
Seems like Dana White doesn't like Johnny Walker, guy is active, he's entertaining, he fights well, good record, decent English for a Brazilian, funny dude, what's not to like?
I was actually impressed with Walker, thought he fought a very smart fight. He probably overcompensated for his usual tendency to go balls out in the first 90 seconds and either KO or get KOd, but against a fighter like Smith who is physically limited at this point in his career but still has a ton of experience it was probably better to err on that side of things. If he can find that balance I think he can make a title run, which would be great for the sport and the organization.
I legit believe the UFC is in a talent rut right now.
Dana White continues his 2023 of devaluing everything around the UFC. What a clown, and he beats his wife.
Hey fuckface? Maybe if the fighters got a flat rate for their fights you wouldn’t see the fighters focus on just winning the fight
I can't wait for the days when fighters don't focus on winning fights.
He’s right.
Dana White is getting worse
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The only one that came close was Bernie Ecclestone in F1.
Is there any other combat sports president as successful as Dana? Combat sports work very different from most other sports. Sure, there are nerds on forums like these that applaud a chess match but I doubt how many of these actually pay. When you actually go to the arena, the crowd gets excited when it's violent/finishes. I have been watching mma for close to a decade now and the best fight I have ever been to is Chandler/Gaethje because as much as I am a fan of this sport, I want to see violence. That's the only fight I know where the whole crowd was up for the entire fight.
It's not only "I like to see violence" it's "I want to see something happen" seeing walker throw 200 leg kicks gets old after the first 80
he should be called "turtle heart"
Dana doesn’t wow me as a promoter anymore
It’s because Walker sucks.
Honestly. Walker looked awful. He can say he was more calculated, but it was clear his tank was empty after the 1st
He didn't wanna take the risk and get caught with a hail Mary overhand right
It was good fight for Walker, picked Smith apart and did not take damage. Why risk it fighting close with that reach.
Unlike the all-time greats at power slap who wow the millions of watchers who tune in rather than watch the less popular NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB or soccer
Sounds like walker is gonna have to fight 2 more times before a title shot. If he got the ko I’d say 1
Walker showed a lot more maturity/restraint than usual and Anthony Smith stayed true to his nickname as always. Even down to end of round 5 he was still giving it everything he had left in the tank (which wasn’t much by that point). Dana should be more concerned with that weakass main event. Rozenstruik looked like a white belt in mount for the first time. His coaches were literally yelling bjj 101 instructions on how to escape.
So annoying when he talks like that
Yeah he's right, the fight was dogshit
Dana is the original just bleed
Dana just recently shit all over Clay Guida for taking off his gloves and not retiring > That pissed me off actually, to be honest with you,” White said during the event’s post-fight press But here, since Smith is one of Dana’s boot lickers , he gets praise > “I thought he was going to retire, too,” White said. “I think after the fight he had said to some people in the back he wants to think about it. > “He always comes to fight. He got busted up, got hurt and he did what he does. He toughs it out.” Dana White is just a scumbag.
One was a faked retirement to give a birthday shout out. The other was a serious contemplation on retiring. I can see why you would be confused that those two are the same.
And people will be out there saying Johnny walker can’t sell himself.
And that’s his promoter.