Heath Herring Slams Dana and the UFC

Speaking to ESPN Radio, former Pride star and current UFC heavyweight Heath Herring had some rather choice words for Dana White and the UFC management team.  Here are a few of Herring's juiciest statements:

I really don't care too much for [the UFC's management team], I don't think they care too much for me.

I'm trying to make money for myself, feed my family, and [the UFC] are trying to do everything they can to make it impossible for me.

Dana White's got six Ferraris. Hell, I just want one.

We last saw Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring in the octagon versus Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 in August of 2008, where he lost a unanimous decision.  Lesnar was fresh-off his first and only MMA loss to Frank Mir, and dominated Herring with relentless positional control from the top.

In the big picture of overall title contenders, Herring has had a fair performance since joining the UFC, posting a 2-3 record.  He drew strong wrestler Jake O'Brien in his first match, and dropped a disappointing decision, but rebounded with a win over Brad Imes.  Herring then faced legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the third time (he had lost twice to Big Nog in Pride) and shocked everyone by dropping him in the first round with a fierce high kick.  Many felt Nogueira was dazed enough to warrant a stoppage, but Herring took the questionable route of attacking Minotauro in his guard, which allowed the seasoned veteran to recover and regain control of the match.

Herring's next bout would be his biggest UFC win to date.  He brawled with Cheick Kongo for three straight rounds, giving the devastating kickboxer the same treatment he received from Jake O'Brien by forcing a ground-fight whenever possible.  Herring walked away with a close split-decision victory over a top UFC contender.

Perhaps a portion of Herring's irritation stems from Kongo's continuous presence on the main card against top contenders like Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, but in all fairness to Kongo, he racked up three-straight TKO stoppages in between his loss to Herring and his bouts with Velasquez and Mir.  Herring, on the other hand, has gone to a decision in each and every one of his UFC bouts--and we all know the UFC brass favors exciting finishers.

Of course, wins take the highest priority over any other performance, and considering Herring's mediocre track record and his lack of finishing ability, his exclusion from the top-tier of heavily marketed heavyweights is understandable, especially when taking into account his secondary--or, according to the interview, now primary--source of income as an actor in small television and movie roles, a course of action that Dana White and company have not looked upon favorably in the past (see "Rampage", Huerta).

Here's the link to the entire radio interview, and the following is a transcript of the good stuff, courtesy of MMAMania. 

"I really don't care too much for [the UFC's management team], I don't think they care too much for me."

"They've got their guys they want to push, guys they want to market. Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir are the guys they want to push and market. The problem is if you're one of the guys who's not one of their favorites, they want to keep you out of the competition."

"I'm trying to make money for myself, feed my family, and [the UFC] are trying to do everything they can to make it impossible for me. With the way the UFC's pay scale and as much as it costs me to get ready for a fight. At the end of the day I made like 40 grand."

"If I was getting a little more money and it was worth my while I'd get back into fighting. But right now I'm making more in movies. I've got to look out for number one as far as that goes."

"[The UFC] are literally making money off our blood, sweat and tears. We don't get any health insurance. If you get hurt training for a fight, you're screwed. It's really kind of crazy. Dana White's got six Ferraris. Hell, I just want one."