Det är stora förändringar på gång inom UFC och den senaste i raden att lämna organisationen är Dave Sholler, vicepresident för bland annat PR. Han går vidare till en position inom basketlaget Philadelphia 76’s.
Det var Dana White som under gårdagens FS1’s “TUF Talk” avslöjade att även Dave Sholler skulle lämna organisationen.
UFCs president White pratade bland annat om sina känslor kring Joe Silvas pension och avslöjade samtidigt att även Sholler ska byta jobb efter UFC 205:
“Dave Sholler just announced that he’s leaving – another guy who I love and respect and loved working with – so yeah, it’s going to be different, but there’s a lot of good things going on,” sade White.
Sholler bekräftade senare nyheterna både på Twitter och i en intervju med MMAjunkie:
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me personally and professionally,” sade Sholler. “It gives me the chance to go home to work for an organization I grew up rooting for, an organization that I’m incredibly passionate about, and an organization I believe is going to add to its storied legacy in the coming years.”
As Dana just announced on @FS1, I'm heading home. I've accepted a job w/ my hometown team, the @Sixers. This has been the ride of a lifetime
— Dave Sholler (@DaveSholler) October 13, 2016
It's time to go home, to the organization I grew up rooting for. Will miss fight game very, very much, but excited for the new challenge.
— Dave Sholler (@DaveSholler) October 13, 2016
Thank you ALL for the kind words. Amazing. Truly. Thank you. I'm closing this chapter with one final event: #UFC205 ?
— Dave Sholler (@DaveSholler) October 13, 2016
Sholler blev en del av Zuffa redan 2009 och jobbade med World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) fram till att organisationen slogs ihop med UFC.
Han är kanske mest känd för att ha ersatt White under några presskonferenser och för att ha stått emellan Jon Jones och Daniel Cormier under deras uppmärksammade slagsmål innan UFC 178:
“As the years have gone by, I’ve learned more and more that family is the most important thing in the world, period,” sade Sholler. “To be able to raise my daughters back home on the East Coast surrounded by family is something I’m really fortunate to be able to do.
“My time at the UFC was nothing short of a dream come true. It’s an organization that believed in me and gave me the chance to succeed. From the early days traveling the globe with Pete Dropick, Reed Harris and characters like Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone promoting WEC, to today where athletes like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor are true crossover stars, I’ve had such an incredible ride. But after such an incredible ride, I know it’s time. It’s time to go home.”
Det är lätt att tänka sig att försäljningen av UFC är det som gjort att Sholler valt att byta arbete men han säger själv att organisationens nya ledare inte har något med hans beslut att göra.
Tvärtom ser han upp till både White och bröderna Fertitta och kallar dem några av de mest inspirerande människorna han någonsin träffat:
“I’m still a huge believer in UFC and where this sport will go in the next 10 years,” Sholler said. “Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are two of the most influential, inspiring people I’ve ever met. They took a chance on a South Jersey kid who just wanted to prove that he could make it. Dana and Lorenzo, along with great executives like Lawrence Epstein, Kirk Hendrick and Garry Cook, allowed me to play a part in making UFC one of the biggest sports in the world. And my 300-plus colleagues at UFC headquarters are the most dedicated, passionate and fearless people in the business.
“Simply put, the athletes I worked with at UFC and WEC will be lifelong friends and family. I’m so fortunate to have worked alongside the most dynamic athletes on the planet for as long as I did.”
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Omslagsbild via MMAnytt.se
