Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 produced another spectacular night as all five of the night’s winners earned UFC contracts from UFC President and CEO Dana White.
After the action had concluded at Meta APEX, White headed backstage to unpack the night’s events with the assembled media at the Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 post-fight press conference.
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Alex Apodaca’s victory saw her upset the odds as she defeated -6000 favorite Mir to earn her UFC contract, and White said that, with a fight being a two-horse race where anything can happen, no fighter should be as big a favorite as Mir, and none should be as big an underdog as Apodaca.
“We've talked about this many times,” said White. “I said, if you're a sports bettor, this is the greatest show in the world. You literally spread a couple grand across all the underdogs, that fight right there would have paid for your whole year of gambling. Nobody in this sport is that big of an underdog, ever.”
White continued, “The beauty is … it doesn't matter what the odds are, what anybody thinks, or who I like, or don't like, or any of that s***. We're the bells and whistles people, and you come in and you either win or lose. That's on you.”
Apodaca’s victory came against a fighter White admitted he had a vested interest in, with strong connections between him and the Mir family that stretch back to the time when Bella’s father, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, was fighting in the Octagon.
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For White, who has prided himself on his impartiality when assessing fighters on the Contender Series, it was the first time he found himself watching someone he had strong ties with.
“I was extremely biased coming into tonight. I've been close to her for over four years,” he explained. “You know, four years ago she came to me and wanted to sort of map out her future. I'm the one that talked her into going to college, you know, and waiting, you know, get a wrestling background in college, do some great things there, and then come here and you know, you guys all heard what her goals were over the next several years.”
After praising Michael Bisping’s pre-fight analysis of the main event matchup, White referred to the UFC Hall of Famer’s comments again during the press conference as he explained the key difference-maker in Apodaca’s victory over Mir in the night’s featured bout.
“Like I said out there, Bisping absolutely nailed it and said, ‘The difference in this fight is deep water. Bella's never been there, and Alex has,’” he said. “[Mir] didn't have deep water experience, and now she does. You know, she didn't fold, she didn't get stopped, she didn't quit. You know, this is all part of the game.”
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White also spoke about the pressure that comes with being an undefeated prospect in the sport, with very few athletes able to shoulder that pressure for the duration of their careers.
“To come in and just go undefeated, it's very hard to do in the sport,” he explained. “That's why when it's done, it's like when we always talk about Jon Jones, he's undefeated. And when you think about the killers that Jon Jones fought when he was a young guy in this sport… And there's more than just his physical attributes, there's the mental. And the first fight with Gustafsson, when he got his deep water experience, how he reacted to that and overcame it, these are all things that are part of this game.”
White was also asked whether Mir might benefit from taking a loss so early in her career as she continues to develop as a fighter.
“I don't know if it's better to lose,” he said. “I think that tonight, if she was in the deep water like she was, and pulled out to win the decision in the third round, then it's like a ‘Holy s***. This is like a wake up call. I'm not as dominant as I thought I was going to be, and I’ve got a lot of things to work on.’”
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On a night packed with impressive performances, Ronald Humprey’s high-octane display caught White’s eye, with the UFC boss clearly excited to see how the former CFFC welterweight contender will fare on the big stage.
“It’s impossible not to look at Ronald. I mean, that guy's an absolute animal,” said White. “I'm really excited to see him fight in the UFC, and like I said to Sean [Shelby], this guy's really well-rounded for four fights. I mean, as soon as the guy's head was down, he'd throw knees, and you know, for four fights, he was very well-rounded… Sean was saying [CFFC] couldn't get this guy fights – nobody wanted to fight him. I said, ‘I think you're going to have that problem, too!’
Everywhere the fight went, this guy was good, you know. And obviously, Miranda was a tough guy. That guy didn't come here to just get a paycheck. That guy came to win. Tough guy, and and you know, I think his opponent made him look even better.”
And on the problem of matching Humphrey moving forward, White said he was happy to step aside and leave that problem to the matchmakers.
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“Listen, every week – the Sacramento fight that we just had, three of these [Contender Series events] – we have the best matchmaking all of combat sports, f****** ever,” he said. “So I'll leave that up to them.”
This season of the Contender Series seems to be delivering even more spectacular performances than before, and White said that the increased capacity at the Meta APEX is playing a big part in the overall feel of the events, with the fighters seemingly elevating their performances to match the atmosphere in the building.
You know what makes a big difference? The crowd, too,” said White. “I mean, it was something that I talked about for a long time. You don't get the crowd till you get to the UFC, and all this stuff. And then obviously, when we renovated the APEX, I had the headphones on. It was so f****** loud on TV, I had to turn it down, and I'm deaf! You guys know that! Yeah, it's a different vibe in there now.”
The Contender Series product continues to evolve, and White said that he’s happy with the trajectory it’s taking, 10 seasons in.
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“I always have high expectations,” he said. “I say it all the time. This is the best show on TV, and now it's the best show live on Tuesdays. What else would you be doing on a Tuesday, anywhere, other than come here and see this live? It's incredible.”
White was also asked about his thoughts on Contender Series contract winners making quick turnarounds to make their UFC debuts, with Anthony Wint being the latest example of a fighter claiming a UFC contract on the Contender Series, then making a swift turnaround to make his debut just 11 days later at UFC Sacramento, where he picked up a first-round submission victory to claim his maiden UFC win.
“I love it,” he said. “I love guys that want to turn around that fast, too, especially with how quickly [Wint] won. He wasn't hurt. He probably got more banged up in camp than he did in the actual fight, and he wants to turn around. He opens the show in Sac and wins as impressively as he did. Once you have that type of momentum behind you, you’ve just got to keep rolling with it, you know? You don't want to disappear and not fight… And it's funny. When I told you guys last week that this show has paid fighters that have come off [the Contender Series] like $225 million over the last 10 years –one of the guys that never fought for a world title has made over $11 million.
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“So, staying active and keeping yourself out there and in everybody's face, is not only good financially, but you have a very limited amount of time to make a lot of money, in any sport. So staying active is the move. I love it.”
