Dana White was his usual talkative self in an a Boston Herald interview yesterday. White addressed several topics.

On EliteXC’s deal with CBS:

“The next company that was going to take me out has been coming for the last eight years,” White told the Herald last week. “Every time somebody puts something new together, it’s been ‘Oh, these guys are gonna kick Dana’s (expletive) and put his ego in check.’ There ain’t anybody kicking our (expletive). It isn’t going to happen this year with CBS and Elite XC or any year…”

“It’s a lot trickier than people realize,” White said. “The reality is that Elite XC didn’t sign a deal with CBS, that’s not what happened. CBS bought Elite XC — big difference. I don’t think it’s a great deal at all. I’ve talked to every network, including CBS. The thing is with me — I say it all the time — I’m not going to cut a stupid deal.”

On EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw:

“We’ll see who’s around in five years, me or Gary Shaw. There’s some ego for you,” White said. “The reality is I know what the (expletive) I’m doing and Gary Shaw doesn’t. If you go and search Gary Shaw and mixed martial arts (on the Internet), this guy was saying five years ago that mixed martial arts was a joke. (He said) it’s not a real sport, these guys are barroom brawlers. Now that fat, bloated (expletive) is running around acting like he loves mixed martial arts.”

On Mark Cuban:

“I don’t dislike Mark Cuban at all,” White said. “He’s a smart guy and he’s made lots of money. … And he’s invested millions and millions of dollars into (HDNet). He thinks that MMA is a hot commodity right now so he’s trying to get viewers. What he wants to do is build HDNet up and then sell it to Comcast or Time Warner or one of the other cable systems. He doesn’t give a (expletive) about mixed martial arts.”

I’ll say this for Dana White. He certainly knows how to do an interview. I do think he’s half-right and half-wrong on the CBS/EliteXC deal. Make no mistake about it–it’s a great deal for EliteXC. It gets the the most exposure that MMA’s ever seen. In fact, it’s huge for them. And it could propel them to UFC-like heights.

Still, the CBS/EliteXC deal could also benefit the UFC, too. “UFC” is still the biggest brand name in MMA, and any type of MMA exposure on a major network could drive more people to UFC PPVs, especially considering EliteXC is doing most of their shows on Showtime right now.

Tags: Dana White, EliteXC, Gary Shaw, Mark Cuban, UFC