Dana, congratulations on an amazing season.
You have talked about how big this show has got. Now that concept has been proven, the numbers are going up. Do you think every year you're going to see this show get bigger and bigger?
There's no doubt. I mean, just what we've experienced in the short amount of time that we've been with Paramount is crazy. Madness. You know, I can't talk publicly about their numbers and their stuff, but monstrous. Monster show.
Do you think because of that, obviously anytime someone gets a phone call to join the UFC, they're going to jump in it. But do you think it's now something that fighters outside the UFC should think about that like, 'Hey, maybe my journey should go through the Contender Series because that will immediately give me a higher profile.'
I think it's been that way since before this year. So, yeah.
We've also seen this season a lot of guys win the Contender Series, get a contract, and then immediately take a UFC fight. Do you think that is also something younger fighters should look at as, 'Hey, if you want to promote yourself as quick as possible,'
I've always felt that way. Just right now there seems to be a lot of them doing it, but I've always felt that way. You should jump right in and you should fight as much as you possibly can.
Going to tonight's fight, I wanted to start off with Greg Foster, the first fight of the night. I think his nickname is Punch First. I don't know if I've ever seen a nickname more appropriate for a guy. He is a lightweight, and obviously we have a history of guys in that division who fight that way, right? They go out there balls to the wall, take damage to give damage. What do you think it is about that weight class that attracts that sort of fighter?
Mhm, interesting. I don't know. You know, might just be that weight. They're faster, I don't know. I don't know. Mentality in that division, but I don't know what it is. But he's going to be a fight, like I said, the first 34-year-old I've been excited about to see fight in the UFC.
Sometimes we see those back-and-forth wars get two contracts. Were you at all interested in maybe signing Askarov, the runner-up there?
Um, no, but I'm sure the matchmakers are probably looking at him. Not to mention the fact that Foster was a two-to-one dog basically. So, over two-to-one dog.
Talk to us about Smeda Sundell and Aline Pereira. I heard you say that you weren't necessarily thinking she should come to the UFC right now. Mick Maynard overruled you and asked her to come in. Talk to us about that decision-making with Mick Maynard.
Yeah, so my thing was, you know, she's 21 or 22. She's got nothing but time, get some more fights and then come back next year. And Mick said, 'No, I think she's a serious... I think she has the potential to be very good. I want her now.'
Yeah. Going back to Foster actually, you said about 34-year-old, right? And we know that's sort of coming towards an end of an athlete's career. What advice would you give to someone who's 34, who's just getting in the UFC? How should they approach their career?
You fight exactly the way you fought tonight. You know, the guy had unstoppable cardio, put unbelievable pressure on this kid and stayed in his face the whole night. And you know, that's what he needs to do when he gets in the UFC. His first fight in the UFC, you put that kind of pressure and have that kind of cardio on anybody, you got a shot.
One outside tonight, Sean Strickland has been very vocal that he's upset with the UFC right now. He's upset with his contract. Curious if you had heard those complaints from him and have you spoken to him?
No, I haven't personally. I've just heard through, you know, social media and stuff, but yeah. When isn't Sean Strickland upset about something or doesn't have something to say? Sean Strickland just signed a new contract in May.
Got him. He also mentioned that he would be interested in switching to Zuffa boxing. I know you've said in the past...
He just signed a new contract in May. He just signed a new deal. That was four months ago, five months ago he signed a new deal.
From what I hear, the number he's putting out there, it's not true. The number that he claimed he made isn't true.
Sean says a lot of stuff, right? How do you know when to take his complaint seriously or when do you just think, 'Ah, Sean's being Sean.'?
I mean, it is what it is. If we were in a situation where like he'd been under the same contract for, you know, a year, two years, but he just signed a contract in May. Got a whole new deal in May. So, it is what it is.
Just two quick ones for me, Dana. You want to talk about Brendan Allen's performance on Saturday night. He moved to 16 and 4 in the UFC. He finishes fights. It seems like he hasn't really connected with the fan base. Are you surprised that he hasn't become a bigger star in the UFC just based on the fact that he does finish fights and he's willing to fight anybody anywhere?
I don't know. What makes you think he hasn't connected and people don't like him?
His social media numbers, stuff like that, yeah. It seems like he should be a bigger star at least in my opinion.
What are his social media numbers?
I don't have them handy, but they're not as prevalent as some of maybe the other bigger stars in the middleweight division.
When you have, you know, a body of work like he has and just that right fight that he might need to get, which he's looking down the barrel of now. I don't have a feeling that, you know, it's not... I mean, Anderson Silva was the world champion and I mean, it took us a while for people to start caring about Anderson Silva. So, it's not like just everybody becomes a star, you know, when you win a certain amount of fights or whatever. I mean, and then you got a guy like Sean O'Malley that the minute the kid fought in the Contender Series, everybody already was talking about him and knew. It's just, and Conor McGregor and guys like that, it's just some guys it takes a little longer even when they're great. Anderson Silva is one of the best of all time. Took so... I remember having so many conversations with Kevin Iole around that time about... Kevin's like, 'I don't understand why this guy just doesn't... nobody cares.' And you know, and there's been lots of examples, Demetrious Johnson. I mean, lots of examples of that happening. And sometimes guys don't get truly appreciated until they're gone.
Yeah. And then last one for me, obviously you and Tim Kennedy have had your differences in the past. I wanted to know if you heard about him getting shot and what your reaction was when you heard that and if anybody from the UFC has had a chance to talk to him.
No, I don't know anything about it or... yeah, I don't know anything about that. Obviously hope he heals up and...
He's back in the states and hopefully healing up. He was on a private...
He was shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the 17th.
He was shot three times. It doesn't really say, but he's at Walter Reed right now.
Yeah, all legs. Yeah, and I think one of his teammates was deceased and killed. I think it was like an ambush or something if the reports that you read online are true.
Yeah. Yeah, I wish him well.
On the topic of the fight night, how happy were you guys that we had two refs that were right there on it with the point deductions? That big fence grab and then the eye poke. And I think these things will really kind of move us in the right direction where people stop doing the fouls in the fights and maybe get away with them.
Yeah. Listen, every time the refs and the judges do a good job, nobody's happier than me. I think that the stoppage tonight, too, in the third round. His corner probably shouldn't have let him come back out for that third round. But, you know, there's so much at stake. But yeah, nobody's happier than me when things are done right.
Awesome. Thank you. Thank you for the 10th season. I hope you guys keep it open and then there was the people love this place. It's awesome. The tickets...
Yeah, yeah. Keep what open?
No, where the public can join.
Oh, yeah, yeah, okay. Thought you meant the Apex. I'm like, 'Dude, we just invested a lot of money here. This place is staying open.'
Dana, now that we're here at the finale, it's just... I know there are a couple of guys who have already made their debuts from this season that you awarded contracts to, but is there maybe a guy or just a couple that you're really excited and you kind of have pinned up on the top of your list of most excited for?
Just from the whole season.
Oh, I mean, if you look back at, you know, Hassan Wight, Hernandez, you know, guys that turned right around and actually did well in the UFC. But there's been so many this... I mean, we had 46 total contracts, so to remember everybody is tough, but I'm excited. You know, every time we do one of these seasons, you know, the question is how they're going to do when they get in the big lights and, you know, walk into the octagon for the first time on a pay-per-view level show. And then you look the way these three guys this season performed, it's incredible.
Sure. And just... I don't know if it was just a confusion in the moment, but when you're talking about Douglas, you mislabeled him as 34 years old. He came into his interview and said, 'No, I'm 27.' Did you happen to catch that?
Oh, really? Oh, even better.
Yeah, it says 34 on my sheet.
You can get excited for a 27.
