About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LAS VEGAS – Dana White tried to keep his emotions in check Tuesday as he watched his runner assistant earn another sort of UFC gig – but that wasn't wholly possible.
Sal Everett, who stocks White's fridge and runs errands for him at the Meta APEX, knocked out opponent Ozzy Martin in the very same building to move to 5-0 as a welterweight and earn his UFC deal on Dana White's Contender Series.
White sang praises for Everett, the human and the fighter, at every point he could get. When Everett won, White took off his headphones and took a few steps to the side in an effort to contain his emotions.
"That's why I got up and walked right out after he won," White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference. "I don't want to be overly celebrating, this other kid getting knocked out. He came to compete here. But all my guys in Boston were blowing me up saying, 'Your boy is in trouble tonight. This guy is a real guy. He's tough.' Sal, I don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to meet him or get to know him. He's one of the greatest kids ever. It couldn't happen to a better person. I'm happy for him. ... I just don't want to be out there jumping around like a little girl after he wins."
White always says that he doesn't usually pull for one fighter over the other, and typically stays away from learning about the prospects before they compete on DWCS. Everett (and Bella Mir earlier in the season) was the exception to the rule. It was obvious. The storyline was publicized, so much so that White said he contemplated going into Martin's locker room before the fight to explain to the fighter that it was still a level playing field.
"I actually contemplated, I've never done it before, but I was going to go back to Ozzy's dressing room and say, 'Listen, I understand how you're probably feeling right now. But you determine whether you get in here or not, we don't,'" White said. "I said, 'F*ck, maybe he needs to feel like we're all against him. Maybe I shouldn't mess with any of this.' So I just left him alone and here we are."
The story is captivating. Anyone who tuned in would understand and follow the storyline in a human interest sort of way. However, White wants it to be known that Everett has the ability to make his story his own.
"If Sal keeps fighting like that, Sal is going to be big no matter what," White said. "Yeah, the Contender Series is a monster, man. This thing out-rates Fight Nights sometimes."
As for Everett's job as a runner, which he told MMA Junkie before the fight he hopes to keep, White is a little unsure it would be best to do both, despite how talented Everett is at each.
"I think this contract changes his life to where he doesn't have to work at the office," White said. "When we run into Sal now it'll be at the PI training. If he's going to really do this and take a run, now he's got a contract that actually pays him enough to make a living and support his family, then he needs to take this seriously and go."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White explains balancing emotions for UFC employee Sal Everett's DWCS win
Source: Sport
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