UFC president Dana White has a simple message for fighters dreaming of competing in the world-famous octagon: Don't do business with EA Sports.
In an edict that started as a rumor on internet message boards, White stated after Saturday's historic UFC 100 event that he was "at war" with the popular video-game developers and that those that side with EA Sports will find themselves out of the UFC's good graces.
But perhaps surprising to some, White insists it was EA Sports that fired the first salvo in the still-developing controversy.
"It's easy to sit on the other side of the table and judge me on how I react to stuff like this," White said. "But let me tell you what – I've been in the trenches for almost 10 years, and I've been dealing with all these businesses, and EA was one of them."
EA Sports holds the publishing rights for several of the market's most successful sports-related video games, including the Madden NFL, FIFA, NASCAR and Tiger Woods PGA series. White said the UFC had hoped to join the ranks of those titles, but the California-based EA Sports declined to discuss the possibility.
"EA Sports told us, 'You're not a real sport,'" White said. "'We wouldn't touch this thing. We want nothing to do with this.'"