Is Dana White really that tough?

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1

I've heard all of this talk about Dana White boxing Tito Ortiz and now Tito is supposedly ducking out of the boxing match.

I've met Dana in person three times and he didn't seem that tough to me. I know that people can be tougher than they look, but I'm just saying from standing next to Dana White in person and shaking his hand I never would have guessed that he's a tough guy. His grip wasn't that strong and he's not that big and he didn't look to be in particularly good shape. Of course looks can be deceptive and Dana could very well be a tough guy who could kick my ass.

I've also met Tito Ortiz in person a few times and Tito looked like somebody you wouldn't want to mess with. I saw Tito stand next to Dana White and Tito looked bigger, stronger, and in better shape. I also shook Tito's hand. Tito's got bigger hands and a stronger grip. Looking at the two of them I would have assumed that Tito could easily defeat Dana White in pretty much any physical sport.

So does anyone out there know if Dana White is really that tough? I've heard about Dana training in boxing but prior to this I thought that it was just like an average guy who trained in boxing to get in better shape and to learn some self defense, I didn't think that he was really any good.

Could Dana White really beat Tito Ortiz in boxing? Anyone out there ever train with both of them, and if so, how do they compare?

2

Dana would boxercise Tito into a living death.

3

Yeah...Dana would have won by decision imo.

4

"Fedor doesn't look that tough either..."

True that Fedor looks tougher than he is, but then again, Fedor doesn't exactly look like a pushover either. While Fedor doesn't look like he'd be the number one ranked MMA fighter in the world he still looks tough.

Dana White didn't even look like an athlete to me when I saw him.

5

So by your logic, Tito wins via better handshake?

I always laugh at how much people judge handshakes, it's upsurd. The single strongest guy I've ever met in my life had one of the weakest handshakes ever.

6

"You're judging by a handshake? LoL. Evander Holyfield and Oscar de la Hoya don't have hard handshakes either. WTF does that matter?"

I'm not just judging by a handshake, I'm just using that as one criteria. I remember Tito feeling a lot more powerful than Dana. Tito seemed like a guy you wouldn't want to fuck with. Dana just seemed like an average guy.

"Did you measure his cock when you were standing next to him in the urinal?"

LOL!

"Anyways, we all know Tito is such a bad ass boxer and there's not a man in the world he couldn't knock out. (/sarcasm)"

I never said that Tito was a bad ass boxer. There are plenty of guys who throw better punches than him in MMA. I just thought that Tito as a top MMA fighter could beat any average Joe in any form of physical combat, and I had assumed that Dana White was just an average Joe.

7

looks don't tell you much about how well someone can fight.

Butterbean has always looked like he should be in a cardiology center recovering from a heart attack, but he was able to do his journeyman boxing routine pretty well in the past, before he got totally ridiculous.

Lots of Japanese fighters (ex. Uno, Sudo) probably wouldn't peg on your "tough guy" meter, but are more than capable of kicking some ass.

Dana wasn't even good enough to be a journeyman in boxing, and he gave up on boxing because he realized he wasn't going to go anywhere in it, but I have no trouble believing he is good enough to potentially beat Tito in a strict amateur boxing match, if the stars all align and he was training for it regularly.

Tito has never been strong at striking, and his striking training has been focused on MMA, not pure boxing.

stand-up striking is only one of the many parts of MMA, and punching is only a part of stand-up striking, albeit probably the most important one...

now, if this was against Anderson Silva or Cro Cop, Dana would get his ass beaten from pillar to post and then swiftly knocked out..

8

Lennox Lewis gave me the weakest, limpest handshake ever. A couple of months later he KOed Mike Tyson after bullying aroud the ring for 8 rounds.

9

"So by your logic, Tito wins via better handshake?"

No, my thinking this wasn't just because of the handshake, that was just one factor. Other factors are that Tito is a top MMA fighter, he looks to be in better shape, he's got a height and weight advantage, and he's younger.

Tito has been a champion MMA fighter. I'd never heard of Dana White being a champion in anything.

"I always laugh at how much people judge handshakes, it's upsurd. The single strongest guy I've ever met in my life had one of the weakest handshakes ever."

Then he obviously wasn't the strongest person when it came to grip strength.

Grip strength is actually important for MMA and grappling. I know that it's not as important for boxing and that the match between Tito and Dana is supposed to be a boxing match, but Tito just seemed to be stronger than Dana in general, not just grip strength. Tito's also got a longer reach and has a weight advantage.

10

I tend to think this was all business from Tito. This time anyway.

11

"Then he obviously wasn't the strongest person when it came to grip strength."

No, he had incredible grip strength. He could have probably crushed my hand if he had wanted to... he just doesn't feel the need to try and rip peoples arms off when he shakes their hands.

12

"Grip strength is actually important for MMA and grappling"

grip strength isn't necessarily applied to your handshake, unless the guy goes in with the intention of giving you a really hard handshake.

I have seen guys with killer grip strength that have average-man handshakes, unless they want to turn it up a notch and nearly break your hand.

13

"looks don't tell you much about how well someone can fight."

Yeah, there is some truth to that statement as evidence by successful MMA fighters like Royce Gracie, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Jeremy Horn. None of these guys look that tough.

"Butterbean has always looked like he should be in a cardiology center recovering from a heart attack, but he was able to do his journeyman boxing routine pretty well in the past, before he got totally ridiculous."

While Butterbean is overweight, he still looks like a tough guy. I'd be willing to bet that if Butterbean was walking down a street nobody would want to mess with him. Butterbean looks like he could squash people and pound the crap out of them.

"Dana wasn't even good enough to be a journeyman in boxing, and he gave up on boxing because he realized he wasn't going to go anywhere in it, but I have no trouble believing he is good enough to potentially beat Tito in a strict amateur boxing match, if the stars all align and he was training for it regularly."

Dana really didn't seem that athletic to me. When I heard that he trained in boxing I thought that it was just like an average Joe who takes up boxing to get in better shape.

"Tito has never been strong at striking, and his striking training has been focused on MMA, not pure boxing. stand-up striking is only one of the many parts of MMA, and punching is only a part of stand-up striking, albeit probably the most important one..."

Yeah, I know that Tito is not one of the top strikers in MMA, but this is in comparison to guys like Chuck Liddell, Vanderlei Silva, and Shogun Rua. Even though Tito is not one of the top strikers in MMA it's not like he doesn't know how to throw punches, and I'd bet that he can hit pretty hard.

"now, if this was against Anderson Silva or Cro Cop, Dana would get his ass beaten from pillar to post and then swiftly knocked out.."

I had assumed that pretty much any pro fighter could beat Dana's ass.

14

"No, he had incredible grip strength. He could have probably crushed my hand if he had wanted to... he just doesn't feel the need to try and rip peoples arms off when he shakes their hands."

It sounds like this guy you are talking about purposely holds back when he shakes people's hands because he knows that if he doesn't he could hurt them. I can't see anyone but a super-strong powerlifter type of person doing this. I don't think that Dana White fits in that category.

15

LOL@referencing handshakes! The only people that squash hands in handshakes are Napolean syndrome fella's, and people with 0 business experience.

16

"LOL at making a stupid thread, then having to work your ass off to convince everyone you're not really that dumb."

So you think it is stupid to ask if a guy with no reported athletic accomplishments and who has a management position could really stand a chance against a current world class MMA figher who is a former champion and who is also bigger? It seems like a reasonable question to me.

17

"LOL@referencing handshakes! The only people that squash hands in handshakes are Napolean syndrome fella's, and people with 0 business experience."

As I said before, the handshake was only one criteria that I was using.

I've also shook hands with some other fighters like Frank Shamrock, Vitor Belfort, Don Frye, and Tank Abbott to name just a few and they all felt like strong guys that you wouldn't want to mess with and I doubt that any of them had a "Napolean syndrome".

18

"LOL @ 'looking tough'
I guess Dana should grow a goatee, get some tats and a Tapout beanie."

OK, that's a good one. LOL!

19

i would not have wasted my time with that either, its was a lose/lose deal. I feel that tito made a good call.

20

"When I heard that he trained in boxing I thought that it was just like an average Joe who takes up boxing to get in better shape."

he was an OK amateur with a small record and he won a plenty more than he lost. nothing to write home about, but plenty of people have worse amateur records.

he gets a lot of shit about his Boxercise employment (and the shit-talking about it is pretty funny), but he does know how to box, even if he wasn't going to become an amateur champ.