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I think first and formost that I'm happy Fitch didn't get cut, or at least did and got brought right back on board. Dana is a very unconventional person.  If you're with him, you're his friend and he's the best guy in the world to have on your side.  Conversely, if you're against him he's your worst fucking enemy. Me personally, I like guys like that.  You always know where you stand with them, and in my personal experiences with him I've found him to be very honest and very generous.  Again, this is just my personal experience.  I really, really like the guy, and I consider him a good friend.
Now, I don't completely understand the terms of this contract, but in a non specific sense you could look at it two ways - you could either think of it as them making money off your likeness, and the fact that they can continue to do so as long as they like, or you could think of it as an awesome opportunity for publicity and exposure.

This game is going to be fucking insane, and it's going to be seen and played with by millions and millions of people, millions of times.  For a popular fighter it's a fucking awesome tool for exposure that has a level of impact that you really wouldn't be able to recreate on your own.
Obviously the more exposure you have, the more opportunities you're going to have to cash in on that with sponsorships.

Now again, I don't know the specifics of these contracts, and I'm not a business person by any stretch of the imagination.  I'm a comic.  I'm a "people" person.  To me what's important isn't business, it's happiness. Everybody's.

I don't want to be involved in any transaction where I'm happy, but the other people aren't.
That's not fun for me, and in my opinion given the cold hard facts about the temporary nature of this short life we're flying through - it's not necessary either.

Drive and ambition are powerful motivating factors on both sides of the argument, and when people feel like they're being disrespected hackles rise and tempers flare.
There's a confrontational aspect of this business that obviously carries over past the fights that take place in the octagon.  It's just the nature of the beast.

What's important to me, is that everyone involved in this crazy fucking experience we call the sport of Mixed Martial Arts gets all the respect and support they deserve, especially the fighters because by far and away they have the most difficult role.

I don't always agree with every single thing Dana says, but I can tell you that without that guy this sport would have never gotten to the point where it is today.  The dude is COMMITTED. He's under a tremendous amount of pressure, and he works a tremendous amount of hours to keep this juggernaut that is the UFC moving.  If he somehow left this life it would take 5 other guys to replace him, and they would still probably wind up fucking it up.

I think we've seen with the foldings of the IFL and EliteXC how hard this shit really is to pull off.
I don't agree with a lot of the things he says about fighters, but I know where it's coming from.  He's a passionate motherfucker, and sometimes he gets a little crazy.

Again, it's that same energy that makes him great at what he does.

In the end I'm glad cooler heads prevailed and everything was worked out. I'm looking forward to seeing Fitch back in the Octagon.  He's one of those dudes that I believe is going to come back from a defeat and fight on a whole new level, and I can't wait to see it.

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tags: Jon Fitch (detail)  Joe Rogan