I think Luke Thomas is being far too broad when he says that Dana White lied to the media when he said Liddell vs. Ortiz was still on for UFC 115. Did he lie to everyone in the media or just the irresponsible MMA fan blogs and websites like Bloody Elbow and Sherdog? Did a chosen few who could be trusted hold their tongues? Did he lie to those who have his ear like Kevin Iole and Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports? Only they know for sure. But anyone who has Dana's ear has had their credibility damaged by Dana's needless lies. As Dave Meltzer admitted to Bryan Alvarez on his April 13th Observer Radio show:
If someone goes to you and goes to me, and just goes how can you believe anything Dana White says, I mean there's no answer other than you know, you're right.
We would find out later on the radio show, to paraphrase another irresponsible blogger, Irv Muchnick, "everything that Sherdog said a few weeks ago, I already knew":
I mean, well the thing is, when those stories broke and Dana denied them, OK, everyone was telling me Dana is lying, that this is a real story and it is going to come out, and obviously I know where they came from, and they came from very good sources, and the point is that why did he need to deny them, and you know you never need to ruin your own credibility.
Dave Meltzer would then go on to safely speculate that Dana White only lied because he got so mad that the news leaked and came from such an irresponsible source, his enemy, Sherdog, that he was going to try to discredit them anyway, even though they were telling the truth. Unfortunately those with Dana's ear couldn't talk him off the cliff edge before he killed his credibility once and for all.
Who does this lack of credibility, short temper and bully boy tactics remind you of? Why one Vince McMahon! But even he couldn't control the wrestling media like Dana White controls the responsible MMA media, Yahoo! Sports. Brock Lesnar's wrong, Dana White's bully boy tactics with the MMA media prove that the word ruthless is just as fitting to describe Dana White as it is Vince McMahon.