UFC president Dana White did not hold back when talking about a recent piece by ESPN, which claimed in the story headline that White said fighters would not be getting pay raises.

White did an interview with GQ last week and answered a Twitter question about UFC fighter pay. He said fighters “get paid what they’re supposed to get paid. They eat what they kill. They get a percentage of the pay-per-view buys and money is spread out amongst all the fighters.”

White prefaced those words by saying boxing is not what it used to be on account of money and other issues. “It’s never gonna happen while I’m here,” he said, which was meant to be interpreted that he would never allow pay to force the UFC to become like boxing.

“Do you think I’m going to sit here and say, ‘Fighter pay will never go up while I’m here.’ That’s the dumbest f—ing thing I’ve ever heard,” White told Yahoo Sports. “And do you know how stupid you have to be to think that’s what I said in that interview when I was talking about boxing?”

White was fired up mainly because ESPN took words he said in what was supposed to be a fun and light interview with GQ and made it out like White is .

“It wasn’t a serious interview,” White said. “It was a fun, f—ing edited piece, and ESPN, the leader in sports, is going to write a story on fighter pay based off that f—ing video? Give me a f—ing break.”

Marc Raimondi, who covers MMA for ESPN, wrote the article in question. White didn’t know that, but he made it clear he was pissed off about the piece.

“I didn’t see the story,” White said. “I don’t even know who wrote it, but you’re not a journalist. You’re a f—ing scumbag.”

Legendary play-by-play broadcaster Tim Brando has had one of the rare distinctions of working at ESPN, CBS, and FOX. He also has had the chance to work with the same partner at two different networks, which is not something that is very common.

Brando was a guest on the Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre podcast on Wednesday. During the segment, Brando talked about how when Joel Klatt moved up to the lead broadcast booth on FOX’s college football coverage in 2015, the network asked Brando who he wanted with him in the booth. His answer was to go bring in someone else he was very familiar with at CBS before FOX hired him in 2014, Spencer Tillman.

“When Joel moved up to work with Gus, FOX actually asked me ‘Hey Tim, is there anybody you’d like to have with you’. I said yes, Spencer’s contract is up over at CBS and they went out and hired him.”

Brando worked with Tillman calling college football games on CBS and in studio shows as well. This year, the two of them will begin their 24^th year working together in some capacity over the last 25 years, which is quite the accomplishment.

When FOX called Brando to join their team in 2014 after CBS let him go, he was excited for another opportunity and he saw the vision and the growing college football coverage that the network was planning.

“In so many ways, FOX has been so good for me. When I left CBS abruptly back in 2014, I think a lot of people including me thought Oh gosh, I think I’ve earned enough checkmarks that I should land with a good parachute at a good place.

“I was a free agent for about 8-9 months. When FOX called, I was so excited. Their portfolio was growing, but it wasn’t nearly what it is today. They were visionary. I think they were thinking we are going to grow our college football portfolio. We need more people. We need to add some greater depth. Maybe some people that have a little more understanding of the history of the game. It’s not always popular for a young television executive to hire a 58-year-old guy that has worked at 3 different networks, but FOX did and I really owe them a lot.”

Brando definitely brings that to any college football game that he calls and he will begin his 9^th season at FOX this year in addition to the college basketball game he broadcasts as well. 

Former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman has teamed up with comedian Sam Morril to launch the Games with Names podcast.

The podcast, which will debut August 23rd, will relive the most iconic games in sports history, hence the Games with Names moniker.

“Everyone’s always talking about who the GOAT is, but Sam and I are looking for the GOAG: The Greatest of all Games,” Edelman said.

Edelman, who retired from the NFL in 2020, has already worked elsewhere in sports media. He joined the cast of Inside the NFL on Paramount+ last season.

Meanwhile, Morril was excited to get the opportunity to work with Edelman.

“Julian Edelman is a three-time Super Bowl Champion and I just got 10,000 airline miles complaining that my in flight TV didn’t work,” said Morril. “We both know how to get things done, and it was only a matter of time before we joined forces.”

The podcast will be presented by WynnBET.