The New South Wales Premier has bluntly rejected calls for the state government to end its relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) following a string of controversies over the last week.
In the lead-up to UFC 312 in Sydney this past Sunday, local outlets took aim at US middleweight contender Sean Strickland after the fighter called Australia “communist” and slammed the country’s “pathetic” gun laws, while boss Dana White later blasted the Australian media at the official post-event press conference.
In particular, White took exception to a Sydney Morning Herald editor who wrote that Chris Minns appearing on Mark Bouris’ podcast with the UFC CEO “made me feel physically sick.”
“Listen for a place that is so tough – everything on land and in the water can kill you – you have the biggest pussies I’ve ever seen in the media in my life,” White said.
“I saw a story where a guy was like, ‘I saw Dana do a podcast with the premier and it physically made me sick.’ Holy fucking shit. You guys have to have the biggest pussies of all time in the media here.”
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Monday, Minns responded to the controversy, saying the government will not walk away from its four-year deal with the UFC. UFC 312 was the second of the three-event deal.
“I understand people want us to walk away from our deal with the UFC, but we’re not going to,” Minns responded, saying that millions go into the city’s art scene, but not all Sydneysiders “have a big interest in those classic arts, but do like mixed martial arts.”
“I think it’s reasonable that we will say, for all those taxpayers, there should be something available for them as well. And as you saw [Sunday], the packed arena huge interest, not to mention a massive economic pool for the city… dollars invested in UFC are far better investments in terms of your return than pretty much anything else we can put money into,” he said.
“Not to mention the exposure to Sydney, [on Sunday[ you were seeing images of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House beamed right throughout the world.
“People are entitled to their views, but I just want to make it clear, we’re not changing positions.”
When contacted by Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Minns’ office declined to respond specifically to White’s comments about the Australian press.
According to White, UFC 312 pulled in a $US7.7 million gate – a feat which the UFC head claims is the biggest of any Australia indoor arena ever.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ has contacted UFC Australia for further comment.
