Without 'Spider', Dana White chooses four athletes he would carve into his 'Mount Rushmore'

D. White in an interview. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

After some athletes jumped on the bandwagon and chose the most important fighters in the history of MMA, it was UFC president Dana White's turn to choose which athletes he considers most important in the organization's history. In a joke using the North American tourist attraction 'Mount Rushmore' – located in South Dakota and which features the faces of four former presidents of the United States – as a reference, the 'boss' selected four names that would be immortalized in the monument.

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“If you're talking about 'Mount Rushmore,' where the heads are carved in stone forever, you would have Royce gracie. This is easy. Amanda nunes She has to be the best fighter of all time. The other two are difficult”, commented White in an interview with 'The Schmozone Podcast'.

With a wide list of notable champions within the company's history of more than 20 years, the 'big boss' explained the difficulty of choosing just two representatives, however, he made his choice.

“I'll have to go with Jon Jones. The guy has never been defeated and what is most incredible about his invincibility and that few have done this, is that, even with the things he did outside the octagon, he was never defeated”, explained the agent.

With only one name remaining, many would believe that the legendary Anderson Silva would be the chosen athlete. Even though he is a self-confessed fan of the Brazilian, Dana, who closely followed the rise and hegemony of 'Spider' in the sport, opted for another big name from the company to finalize his list.

“Number four on 'Mount Rushmore' I think would be Chuck Liddell. At one point, he was the biggest star of all. It would almost be a coin toss to choose between Chuck Liddel and Forrest griffin and they are from the same show, the first season of 'The Ultimate Fighter'. Chuck became a massive star, he was the highest paid in the company and everything else,” Dana said.

Absence of 'Spider' and St. Pierre

Even though he is considered by many to be two of the best MMA fighters of all time, the Brazilian ended up being left out of Dana's group. The president, however, did not fail to highlight the importance of the legend for the sport, especially in Brazil.

“If you look at what Anderson Silva did for Brazil and Georges St Pierre across Canada, these guys had an impact on an entire country. It’s massive and very strong,” he concluded.