Dana White’s decision to move the weigh-ins back to the late afternoon format has been hot topic in the MMA world. Many fighters are strongly against the idea, one of whom is Al Iaquinta, who had some strong words for the UFC president regarding his decision to change the format.
Iaquinta disputed White’s claim that the UFC has done research of its own to determine that a majority of fighters on the roster prefer the old format of late afternoon weigh-ins, and expressed frustration with White stating that the switch was happening “no matter what,” even at the expense of the original intent of morning weigh-ins — which was to give fighters more time to recover and rehydrate before their fight.
“His sense of reality is gone,” Iaquinta said of White on The MMA Hour.
“It’s gone. It’s shot. It’s absolutely shot. It’s scary. Now he’s putting our health at risk. He’s going to move the weigh-ins? So why did you move the weigh-ins in the first place? Because, in his mind, he wants more exciting fights. How are you going to get more exciting fights? Give the fighters more time to recover, right? Which is also beneficial to us because it’s healthy. It’s healthy for us to replenish."
“Even though it’s healthier for the fighters, we’re going to move it back to the nighttime, because he interviewed a million fighters? I haven’t seen one that want it at night. So his sense of reality, you can’t — it’s almost like, you do an interview with him now, it’s not about the truth, it’s about his agenda. So, I’m weighing-in in the morning.”
White is keeping his stance on his decision as he told reporters on Saturday night, “there’s no debate about this.”
“Lorenzo (Fertitta) kept him in check,” Iaquinta said.
“Now that [Fertitta is gone], I think he’s going to run this thing into the ground, because now he’s just saying whatever he wants to say. No one’s keeping him under wraps. He’s saying whatever he wants to say. You’re just going to move the weigh-in? What fighter did you interview? He said, ‘We’ve got 550 fighter on the roster, we interviewed more than you.’ Eh, I don’t think so. I haven’t talked to a fighter that was interviewed or talked to about moving the weigh-ins back to the nighttime. I think it’s about him. It’s all about him. It’s always about him. And if it’s not about him, he wants to get right in there.
“Get rid of me. I don’t give a sh*t. How about that?” Iaquinta said, laughing.
“I really don’t care. That’s the difference, is I don’t care and they know I don’t care. All the rest of the guys, they care. I don’t. So, cut me. I don’t care. The UFC doesn’t make me. I make them. We make them. That’s what no one understands. No one gets it.”