UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez has caused quite the stir as of late. The fighter was unceremoniously cut from the UFC roster after allegedly turning down a fight offer against Zabit Magomedsharipov for Aug. 4.
UFC President Dana White would later come forward to reveal the news and claimed that Rodriguez’s lack of interest in the fight offer caused the fighter to be cut from the roster. However, Rodriguez later found himself back on the UFC roster and is now set to face Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 228.
Still, the incident has made many rethink what it means to negotiate fight offers with the promotion. Now UFC President Dana White has come forward with a new statement on the matter.
Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, White revealed that he plans on cutting other fighters from the roster for not accepting fights as well.
“I’m looking for people that want to be world champions that want to f–king fight the best in the world. If you’re not that guy, then there’s plenty of other places where you can go and make money. This place isn’t for you.”
“That’s what I’ve run into with a few guys. You’re going to see more of it. There’s more coming today. I’m not f–king around anymore here. If you don’t want to fight, don’t sign here. If you want to hand pick fights, don’t sign a contract here. This isn’t the right place for you.
“Look at Darren Till…Darren Till just fought [Stephen] “Wonderboy” Thompson. “Wonderboy” Thompson was ranked No. 1 in the world and he took that fight. Guess what happened? It was a really close fight, the judges gave it to [Till] and [Thompson] went from No. 1 to No. 3. Nothing massively devastating happened to his career. He’s still a top three guy in the world. But you have to be willing to fight anybody.”
“You’re here to fight and you’re here to become a world champion. If that is not what you are here for this is not the place for you. You can go many other places. They’re paying guys great money out there right now and a lot of times you can go out there and make more money than you’re making here. Knock yourself out. That’s where you belong. You don’t belong here.”
“When you’re in a position where you turn down fights and you don’t want to fight this guy or that guy and all this other s–t, all I can say is you better keep winning.”
