Dana White Says The WWE Network Is 'Ridiculous'

In an interview with Fox Sports, Dana White gave his thoughts on the WWE Network, which he called "ridiculous".

On the WWE Network: "It's ridiculous. I hate to sound like I'm attacking the WWE or de-value what they did because Vince McMahon, say whatever you want and he's always smashing us and talking s—t about us, but I will tell you this – I was watching WWE I was a little kid and Vince was the commentator in WWE. This guy has been kicking ass, breaking rules and doing things that people said he couldn't do over and over and over again. Now I'm older I don't get the whole thing, it doesn't work for me, but what he's able to do, the ratings he's able to pull and the things he's done and when I look at his model and he's basically taking everything in and de-valued it. Saying everything we do is worth $10. That doesn't make sense to me."

On the risk involved: "If he pulls in 2 million subscribers, he's crushing it. So it's a risky move, it's a crazy move, but Vince has been doing risky, crazy s—t since the beginning of time. If anybody can do it, maybe Vince can do it."

On UFC having different fans than WWE: "I've always thought that we don't correlate with WWE. You're more inclined to be a boxing and UFC fan than a boxing, UFC and wrestling fan. Because wrestling is fake, it's scripted, it's completely different. We had a ton of WWE crossover when Brock (Lesnar) was here."

I think Dana is saying that because the UFC model is primarily dependent on PPV buys. I don't think he wants any expectations of the UFC running a similar model to WWE's, as that would kill their consistent profits.

I can say that I enjoy MMA, boxing, kickboxing, AND pro wrestling. Yes, they're apples and oranges, but they do share similarities. At their foundations they're all man vs. man, and I enjoy them all for unique reasons. Boxers study the sweet science to the degrees, and the single tilt of a knuckle from a punch thrown can make all the difference. Kickboxing (usually) employs all elements of striking and while they aren't as precise with their hands as boxers are, they are the more complete striker. MMA is to martial arts what kickboxing is boxing, as all disciplines are utilized. Pro wrestling is just an extreme exaggeration of other combat sports, with elements of theatre included.