Dana White laid waste to Luke Rockhold's recent demands within the space of two sentences at the UFC 211 post-fight press conference.
Former middleweight champion Rockhold was extremely critical of the organisation in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on MMA Fighting's The MMA Hour, accusing the UFC of allowing his division to stagnate while attempting to put on 'freak shows' a la Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather, and other cross-division fights.
Rockhold hasn't fought since being knocked out in a round by Michael Bisping last June, but his criticism of the UFC had garnered a number of notable backers in recent days, including top contender Robert Whittaker.
Rockhold told The MMA Hour last week:
Our division is hot right now, they’ve got good matchups, but they’re just not putting the champion to work. It’s ridiculous.
The company is kind of losing it these days. I don’t know what happened to the old company where the best fought the best. That’s what built this company, now it’s just a spectator sport. They’re just putting freak shows together.
If they’re not putting an interim title on the line, or if they’re not making Bisping fight a contender, I’m not fighting anybody.
And so should the rest of the division, too. What’s the point? Without me, Mousasi, Yoel, and Whittaker? I think everyone should just stand their ground, and say f—k you. Put a title on the line or else, f—k, you don’t even have a division.
I think everyone is already on strike, aren’t they? We’re all waiting on a title. Whittaker’s down. I’ve voiced my opinion, and I think Mousasi should stand his ground, too. I mean, without us you have no fucking division. Make something happen.
They’re forcing us into a corner. We got to stick up and stay together and make something happen. I’m tired of this shit, man.
The issue of fighter demands - with regards to title shots, as opposed to money - was raised by a reporter at the press conference which followed UFC 211 in Dallas, and Dana White delivered a rather angry response.
Despite not being asked about Rockhold at all, the UFC president used the American as an example of where he felt fighters were going wrong with their demands of the organisation, delivering the following, cutting retort:
Listen, I was thinking about this when I talked to some of the media here yesterday. There was a lot of guys talking about, 'Deserve, deserve'.
Nobody deserves anything! You gotta earn it, here. It's like these guys wanna sit around - you’ve got (Luke) Rockhold right now, screaming 'I deserve this.'
You just got knocked out in the first round. You don’t deserve anything!
