The big news from the UFC Press Conference had nothing to do with tonight’s fights. To a stunned press pack, Dana White announced that Brock Lesnar is not only struggling to recover from mono but that after a recent trip to Canada he has developed further health problems and is currently back in hospital. He refused to give more details about the nature of these health problems except that they were serious. In response to a direct question about what this meant for the future of the heavyweight championship Dana White raised the possibility of an interim championship or even stripping Lesnar of the title. He said that he will be meeting with Lesnar and his people next week to decide what the future holds for the UFC Heavyweight Champion and the championship he currently holds.
He also confirmed that the UFC is in serious talks with Abu Dhabi about doing an event there. Dana White had been in Abu Dhabi recently and members of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family were in attendance at tonight’s event. Members of the UFC crew will be flying out to Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
No word on when the UFC would next be in the United Kingdom, although the estimate was second quarter 2010.
For the more news from the press conference please clink the link below, but beware as there will be spoilers of tonight’s results.
Dana White put over Dan Hardy in a huge way, saying that he gave Mike Swick a beating and could have finished him several times during the fight. Said that he considered Dan Hardy a contender to welterweight champion George St. Pierre. When asked about the possibility about the fight being held in the United Kingdom, he said that it was looking likely that it would be in Las Vegas. When asked about whether they’d be trying to get the fight on UK Pay Per View, he was non-commital.
Brandon Vera confirmed that he believed that the judges had scored the fight wrong but acknowledged that the fight was close and he should have done more to finish Couture. White praised Vera for his performance but refused to say whether he thought the decision was wrong. Couture also praised Vera but thought he did enough with his boxing in the third round to deserve the victory.
Dana White put the British fighters and fans over huge, really making a big deal about how far the UFC has come in recent years. Pearson, Etim, Bisping and Osipczak were all put over in a big way for their win.
