Bill O'Reilly interviews Dana White and Rich Franklin

[Gordon Nore]

I don't think this has been posted yet. Any comments?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX42YJQ5Ijs

[Rasputin]

I think that Bill O'Reilly has no basis to understand this phenomenon and the interview was not conducted with Mr. O'Reilly taking a neutral stance, as he should have were he a serious journalist. It was obvious where his bias lay.

[Jared Sutton]

I saw it last night. I think that O'reilly was a complete jerk and what he knows of the UFC obviously amounts to the roll of clips that were played as he preached to Dana and Rich about how they were "selling brutality." "Is it gonna be like lions in the ring here next?"

J. Sutton

[fightgrrl]

I think Hockey is brutal...


Dana White is a %&*^#$@ genius for taking people to class on what NHB/MMA is. The show has done so much for reviving fighting arts. When non-fighters used to watch NHB fighting they'd get bored with groundfighting that wasn't ground 'n' pound. Now they are cheering for subtler submissions.


But I'd like a tad less 'drama' from the show.

[Carol Kaur]

I hope Bill O'Reilly never finds out about the NFL. :rolleyes:

[Dennis Monk]

Ordinarily I really like Bill Oreilly's take on things. He is way off base here and is just trying to prove a point. He doesn't like it, so no one else should either.

[Brian R. VanCise]

Ordinarily I really like Bill Oreilly's take on things. He is way off base here and is just trying to prove a point. He doesn't like it, so no one else should either.

Actually Dennis he is probably a closet UFC fan! He just can't admit it on national TV. :D

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

[STORMCROW34]

Although I appreciate how Bill isn't afraid to go against the grain with his opinions. We should remember that he is an entertainer, not a journalist.

[AllanJGAnderson]

Wow, That interview did nothing but prove the man's igonarance and concidedness. He's taking UFC and MMA from the completly wrong angle. I think there is very little violence in UFC, as a trained martial artists, as are all the fighters, it more like watching a highspeed chess match, with each fighter doing complicated techniques and counters. Allthough I will admit in the UFC's earlier days it was lot more like checkers.

[DungeonWorks]

It apears that Bill O'Reirlly has issues stemming from his Uncle Billy and the "Horsey Rides" behind the wood shed that he gave him as a kid. WOW! What freakin' JERK!

Why is it that these large-media broadcasters think they need to take such an "Ultra-Pro" or "Ultra-Con" stance on everything??? Why can they not just lay the facts out there and let the viewers make up thier own minds on things?

[Dennis Monk]

Why can they not just lay the facts out there and let the viewers make up thier own minds on things?
Because that would not make for good TV.

[Chrono]

Why can they not just lay the facts out there and let the viewers make up thier own minds on things?

And they probably wouldn't expect us (the viewers) to be able to make up our minds on things.

[AllanJGAnderson]

And they probably wouldn't expect us (the viewers) to be able to make up our minds on things.


Correction. They wouldn't WANT us to.

[Eye4NEye]

I read a short blurb in Parade magazine's Q&A section a few months back, where a person wrote in and asked for their opinion on the UFC. Actually, I just found it on the parade website:

Q. What is your opinion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts that are becoming the favorite blood sport in Las Vegas and on TV?
—Ned Taylor, Detroit, Mich.

A. We agree with Sen. John McCain, who called that type of sport “a human cockfight.” It should be banned.

Passing judgment based on pure ignorance, if you ask me.

[AllanJGAnderson]

I read a short blurb in Parade magazine's Q&A section a few months back, where a person wrote in and asked for their opinion on the UFC. Actually, I just found it on the parade website:

Q. What is your opinion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts that are becoming the favorite blood sport in Las Vegas and on TV?
—Ned Taylor, Detroit, Mich.

A. We agree with Sen. John McCain, who called that type of sport “a human cockfight.” It should be banned.

Passing judgment based on pure ignorance, if you ask me.


::Smacks forehead:::
....morons

[kumite]

I hope Bill O'Reilly never finds out about the NFL. :rolleyes:

:laugh: So true! Have they ever watched what happens between the linemen everytime the ball is snapped?

Politicians and tv talking heads should stay out of sports.

[Gordon Nore]

If the UFC were on Fox, O'Reilly would probably be singing a different tune. Spike has two spin-off programs derived from a successful pay-per-view franchise. I'm sure they've made a dent in the market.

I don't buy O'Reilly's arguments one bit. If risk of fatality is the issue, then a lot of other sports and entertainment, like auto racing and air shows, need to go as well. What kills me is that a guy like O'Reilly, who's pro death penalty and pro Iraq war, thinks that the UFC will harm our delicate sensibilities. :laugh:

[shutterspeed]

Viewing the clip, I actually think Franklin and White held their own against O'Reilly. O'Reilly appeared clearly misinformed and out of his arena in taking on an issue he thought he'd be able to earn quick, cheap points on with his audience.

I appreciate O'Reilly's rightist leanings in context with the liberal leanings of such channels as CNN, MSNBC and the like. But like a previous poster mentioned, to consider O'Reilly himself an objective journalist would be a joke. And lately, more than ever, he has really been straining his credibility.

It's a shame O'Reilly had a chance to present a different perspective on the UFC to mainstream America, as I think he really might have had he been personally involved in the research of the sport, and totally blew it by trying to set the franchise back. To any halfway intelligent person with any iota of sports knowledge, UFC fighters rank among our most highly trained, skilled, and respectable athletes.

Franklin's professional acumen is a blessing for UFC. Dana White should really consider keeping his foul mouth behind closed doors while running the franchise and letting Franklin become the face and voice of UFC.

[don]

Although I appreciate how Bill.... is an entertainer, not a journalist.

Ha!

Excellent!


A. We agree with Sen. John McCain, who called that type of sport “a human cockfight.” It should be banned.

A book on the UFC, Brawl, points out Mr. McCain’s disappointing conflict of interest here. Evidently his wife is heir to the Budweiser fortune, this company regularly advertising during boxing matches and standing to lose revenue should boxing’s appeal decline (further).

And as to the cockfight stuff, a lot of boxers die every year. None have died in the UFC, right? Remember, rules were created to prolong the fights, not protect the fighters; gloves to protect hands, not heads. The UFC is gentler precisely because it is has fewer rules.

[Rasputin]

The UFC is gentler precisely because it is has fewer rules.

Yep. Gentler and more boring. I remain steadfast in opinion that the "test your art" nature of the first few UFCs were amazing and spectacular. Nowadays everybody knows the formula to success in the octagon, so they all train precisely for that.

I think I will fire up my UFC 1 and 2 DVDs again, for old times' sake. Today's whippersnappers just don't know what real scrappin's like.

[Dennis Monk]

UFC fighters rank among our most highly trained, skilled, and respectable athletes.
Yeah, for the most part. But every once in a while....
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/Tank_Abbott.jpg :laugh:

[AllanJGAnderson]

I knew it was just a matter of time til Tank Abbot came up, gotta love his lack of grace. It's like drunken boxing you see, by constantly being off balance and falling on his bottom, Tank will maintain perfect balance like a gyroscopre and potentially land on a smaller oponent resulting in his demise.

[AllanJGAnderson]

Yep. Gentler and more boring. I remain steadfast in opinion that the "test your art" nature of the first few UFCs were amazing and spectacular. Nowadays everybody knows the formula to success in the octagon, so they all train precisely for that.

I think I will fire up my UFC 1 and 2 DVDs again, for old times' sake. Today's whippersnappers just don't know what real scrappin's like.

Ahmen :bow:

[don]

Yep. Gentler and more boring. I remain steadfast in opinion that the "test your art" nature of the first few UFCs were amazing and spectacular. Nowadays everybody knows the formula to success in the octagon, so they all train precisely for that.

Yeah, I, too, long for the days of standing in the rain to crank up my trusty Model-T... :)

But whatever the UFC has become through evolution, it's still way better than the prattling of Black Belt Magazine about which is better, karate or tkd or tkd and judo or. The money is where the mouth is...

[Brian R. VanCise]

Yep. Gentler and more boring. I remain steadfast in opinion that the "test your art" nature of the first few UFCs were amazing and spectacular. Nowadays everybody knows the formula to success in the octagon, so they all train precisely for that.

I think I will fire up my UFC 1 and 2 DVDs again, for old times' sake. Today's whippersnappers just don't know what real scrappin's like.

Those first few UFC's certainly were great. I particularly like the 600 lb sumo Emanuel Yarborough vs. the 200 Kenpo fighter Keith Hackney. What an interesting contrast!

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

[DungeonWorks]

Yep. Gentler and more boring. I remain steadfast in opinion that the "test your art" nature of the first few UFCs were amazing and spectacular. Nowadays everybody knows the formula to success in the octagon, so they all train precisely for that.

I think I will fire up my UFC 1 and 2 DVDs again, for old times' sake. Today's whippersnappers just don't know what real scrappin's like.

I agree and disagree with this statement at the sametime. :laugh:

Agree: The first 4-5 UFC's were great in the way that they shattered common misconceptions and legends that were ultimately dicrediting martial artists as viable fighters. I remember at the time that some (maybe even safe to say many?) non-martial artists believe that a blackbelt is really the measure of ones fighting skills and not just martial arts knowledge. In a nut shell, it killed some myths of the invincibile warrior.

Disagree: The modern UFC is boring now that the fomula for success has evolved to the point that the skills needed to win fit the constraints of the added rules not present in the early UFC's. I only disagree because I have grown to like them and the sport it has become. I like it better than anyother sport from Hockey, football, and basketball to boxing...which I am still an avid fan of, but if forced to choose one to watch, that's easy....I love MMA. It's as pure essence of cometetive sport as one can see/compete in...IMVHO.

Good observation Rasputin. :bow:

On a side note as a fan of MMA and TMA'ist on hiatus, I must add that I still like the TMA's and think there is much to gain from their study. I like/love them both.

[DungeonWorks]

Yeah, for the most part. But every once in a while....
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/Tank_Abbott.jpg :laugh:

Tank Abbott was (still is???) the realistic model for the ultimate "street thug" one fears meeting up with in a bar room or dark alley. I think part of his apeal in the early days was what he represented....the big bad thug we all feared we may one day have to defend against, and maybe the model of our visualization in a "worst case scenario" in self defense training. He also added marketability with his attitude and badboy apeal because his looks and style fit the stereotype of the seasoned bar brawler....and it was darn good fun watching him fight, win or lose! :cool:

[shutterspeed]

As with many other sports (including boxing) there will always be some kind of gimmick or geek show every now and then. As the UFC evolved into a plausible sport, Tank quickly became obsolete (not after receiving his share of butt kickings by the new breed, of course).

The early days of UFC could never be matched. As was mentioned by Rasputin, it was instrumental in dispelling myths about certain arts, while giving instant credibility to others. Once the formula for success became obvious, everyone jumped on the bandwagon.

However, in place of the exotic nature of the first few episodes, the UFC evolved into a highly trained sport with top-notch athletes. Soon the UFC was being allowed access by state sports commission, thus ushering it from the basements of the country to center stage. In this regard, the UFC found self-preserveration and is more popular today than ever in its history.

[kumite]

Tank Abbott was (still is???) the realistic model for the ultimate "street thug" one fears meeting up with in a bar room or dark alley. I think part of his apeal in the early days was what he represented....the big bad thug we all feared we may one day have to defend against, and maybe the model of our visualization in a "worst case scenario" in self defense training. He also added marketability with his attitude and badboy apeal because his looks and style fit the stereotype of the seasoned bar brawler....and it was darn good fun watching him fight, win or lose! :cool:

By looking at him, you'd never know you were looking at a college eduacated man with a (I think) master's degree.
David "Tank" Abbott. Scholar, bar brawler, MMA fighter. Interesting chap.

[Chrono]

By looking at him, you'd never know you were looking at a college eduacated man with a (I think) master's degree.
David "Tank" Abbott. Scholar, bar brawler, MMA fighter. Interesting chap.

The same with Rich Franklin. Didn't he say that he could teach high school math?

[DungeonWorks]

The same with Rich Franklin. Didn't he say that he could teach high school math?

That was his proffession before turning pro in MMA.

[PhillyBCEagles]

A book on the UFC, Brawl, points out Mr. McCain’s disappointing conflict of interest here. Evidently his wife is heir to the Budweiser fortune, this company regularly advertising during boxing matches and standing to lose revenue should boxing’s appeal decline (further).

Didn't McCain publically renounce his objections to the UFC after they dropped the no-rules/no weight classes free-for-all stuff and instituted the current format??

I also loved watching the old UFCs (I was 12, 13, 14 at the time and was obsessed with movies like "Bloodsport"--used to rent the videos as soon as they showed up in Blockbuster) but they never had a chance to become a legitimate, mainstream sport and MMA in its current incarnation is in the process of doing exactly that. It's only a matter of time before MMA is an Olympic sport, IMO, and it has a good chance to overtake boxing as America's #1 fighting sport (it's certainly a far more cerebral sport than boxing, although it suffers a bit because it can be kind of boring if you don't really understand what you're watching).