The Ultimate Fighting Championship is on a roll on pay-per-view, with events that did in the neighborhood of 1 million pay-per-view buys in each of the last three months -- an unprecedented level of pay-per-view success for any organization in any sport.But when I talked to UFC President Dana White on Wednesday, he sounded more excited discussing the fights that the UFC is putting on for free on basic cable, starting with this Saturday night's UFC Fight Night on Spike TV. White said he views the Fight Nights as similar to the old Tuesday Night Fights program, which helped build some of the young boxing stars of the 1980s and 1990s, and he pointed out that after the UFC put three shows on pay-per-view in a five-week stretch in December and January, it's now putting three of its next four shows on free TV.
We also discussed UFC 94 and the controversy over welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre having Vaseline applied to his body during his win over lightweight champion B.J. Penn. The full interview is below.
You went into UFC 94 with high expectations, that it could be the biggest event you've ever done. Did it meet your expectations?
We were very happy with the weekend. It was crazy. It was one of our most hyped-up fights. This thing was so sold out that the day of the event the MGM Grand literally added like 165 seats in the $750 price range, putting seats where ever they could fit them. I've never been part of a fight like that. To be honest with you, I'm still f**king drained from it, man. I've been exhausted this week from that fight.
I know it's really the Nevada Athletic Commission, not the UFC, that is conducting this investigation, but how concerned are you about the incident with Vaseline being rubbed on Georges St. Pierre's body?
It's one of those things. His corner man -- you can clearly see -- when he puts the Vaseline on his face, he rubs his hands on his shoulders and rubs his chest and back. You cannot do that. You can't do that. It's illegal. You have to wipe your hands off. It is what it is. I'm sure the commission looks at that.
In no way shape or form do i think Georges St. Pierre went out to cheat. I think his cornerman f**ked up. That's what I think. Do I think it had a huge impact on the fight? No, I don't. But it's illegal. You cannot do it. And I think the cornerman's in trouble. That's what I think.
Do you think he meant to do it?
I don't know. I honestly couldn't answer that. I couldn't give you an honest answer. If he didn't know, how do you go in and corner somebody and not know the rules?
