Following last night’s UFC 204 event, Dana White spoke to Megan Olivi about the night’s big talking points and you can watch the video and read our keynotes below.
– White hadn’t envisaged the main event going five competitive rounds. He’d anticipated either Henderson clipping Bisping early, or for Bisping to come on strong late. As it turned out it was “a damn close fight, right to the end.”
– Dana thought the first round was 10-8 to Henderson, and looking at Bisping’s rapidly swelling eye he didn’t believe he’d make it five rounds. That being said, White gave Bisping the final round and credits ‘The Count’s’ fighting spirit for enabling him to battle through the early adversity, and says that whether you love him or hate him, that’s why people enjoy watching the champion fight.
– White says a fight big middleweight fights in the coming months between top contenders will establish who gets to fight Bisping next.
– THe UFC president is no doubt that Dan Henderson will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame now that’s called time on his career, and along with his many accomplishments in the sport, the fact that he’s fought until he’s 46 has impressed White.
– White says he’s been a Gegard Mousasi fan for a long time and he looked good taking out Belfort in a fun fight.
– He feels Jimi Manuwa hasn’t showed everything he’s capable of in his UFC career so far, so it was good to see him get a big win at UFC 204 and will look for him to get another meaningful fight next time out.
– White says he likes Stefan Struve and has helped him with some of the personal issues he’s been dealing with in recent years. He feels that each win the ‘Skyscraper’ gets helps him to become more confident, and is happy to see that.
– Finally, Dana states his belief that UFC 205 is the biggest fight card in the history of the promotion and if everyone stays healthy he can’t see a way that it won’t deliver on the night in NYC.
