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Photo courtesy of Sherdog.com

This isn’t exactly what you would call breaking news, but with all the Dynamite!! pre-event hoopla out of the way, not much else is going on today other than news that Demain Maia is going to submit Chael Sonnen at UFC 95 and Yushin Okami could finally get his title shot at Anderson Silva.

So, why not give an update on Dana White’s latest thoughts on Fedor Emelianenko? Here’s what he told Carmichael Dave in this radio interview, where White also mentioned that Nogueira had been suffering from a staph infection during his training camp leading up to the Mir fight.

“(Laughs) That’s so crazy! How can you call him the number one heavyweight in the world? The guy doesn’t fight anybody!”

“After seeing what!? Tim Sylvia!? Everybody knocked Tim Sylvia down in the first round… Randy Couture knocked Tim Sylvia down in the first round too and took his back. Randy just couldn’t choke him out or he would have choked him out the same exact way Fedor did!”

“Could you imagine if I had stable full of guys that fought once every two and half to three years and said they were the best fighter in the world!? Give me a break. Listen, I’ve got no problem with Fedor. I’ve tried to bring him in many times (and) I’m still trying. If Fedor wants to get on the phone tonight I’ll try and cut a deal with him. But don’t call yourself the best heavyweight in the world unless you’re willing to come in and fight three times a year against the best. Annihilate all the best in here and I’ll call you the best.

“I want to make the fight. I don’t want to sit around and say, ‘No (Fedor) sucks, he’s not the best’ and not let him fight. I’ll bring him and let him fight everybody. I’ll even pay him — good money. More money than these other knuckleheads can pay him. You’re not the best to me unless you come in and prove it. Just because you knocked Tim Sylvia down and choked him out, you’re not the best. I mean everybody has done that. Andrei Arlovski did it; he heel hooked him in the first round. Randy Couture knocked him down and almost choked him out in the first round (too).”

So, would you consider White’s statements to be an upgrade over “a farce?” Or, just a nicer way of putting it?

Since Fedor isn’t the best heavyweight, according to White, then who is? Well, Dana never answered that question, but I would love to know who he thinks is. With Randy and Nog both losing their last fights, is Dana willing to go as far as calling one of their victorious opponents, Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir, the best heavyweight in the world?

Now, that would be worth laughing over.