A few quick notes from a UFC 69 telephone press conference:
*UFC president Dana White had strong words for Floyd Mayweather's recent disrespectful comments about mixed martial arts: "He says he wants to pay Chuck Liddell a million dollars to fight with a heavyweight boxer and see if he'll last. How about this? How about we pay Floyd a million dollars to fight MMA and see how long he lasts. Or even better ... I'll give him a million dollars of my own money if he boxes anyone other than Oscar (De La Hoya) and more than 10 people buy tickets."
Mayweather was quoted in an article on the boxing Web site Thesweetscience.com as saying: “UFC ain’t s--,. It ain’t but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight. We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I’ll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket. These are guys who couldn’t make it in boxing."
*White also slapped down a boxing-based writer who criticized MMA fighters for their boxing technique, claiming their footwork was "wrong." White patiently explained that unlike a boxer, an MMA competitor also needs to be watching for other forms of strikes, or a potential takedown, and thus need to set up their punches differently than boxers.
*White said it could take as long as a year before we see matchups with PRIDE vs. UFC fighters.
*He said they're looking at August or September for a potential Randy Couture vs. Mirko Cro Cop match.
This is FOXSports.com 's official mixed martial arts blog, maintained by FOXSports.com editor Dave Doyle, the first reporter to cover MMA on a regular basis for a mainstream national sports media site.