UFC President Dana White says he hopes there's a criminal investigation of EliteXC in the wake of Seth Petruzelli saying -- and then recanting -- that the promoters offered him extra money to keep his fight with Kimbo Slice standing up:
"It would be like the NFL, there's a game between the Patriots and the Browns and the NFL goes into the locker rooms and tells the players, 'Listen, the Patriots pull higher ratings if they make it to the playoffs and the Super Bowl than the Bornws do. So here's what we're going to do: The Browns have a great running game. We're going to pay your team more money if you just pass tonight, don't run, because we need the Patriots to make it to the next level.' That's f---ing illegal. They're being investigated by the Florida Athletic Commission. They ought to be investigated by the FBI, too."
White also notes that Vegas casinos took bets on the Kimbo-Petruzelli fight, and that any time there's betting on a fight, the bettors and the house are entitled to know that the fight is on the up and up. And he points out that Petruzelli was eliminated on The Ultimate Fighter and went 0-2 in his UFC career.
Overall, White seems more angry that EliteXC could damage MMA than worried EliteXC could threaten UFC's perch atop MMA.
Via Fight Opinion and Bloody Elbow.
