The war of words continue between Dana White and former UFC champ Randy Couture. As Couture makes the move to Bellator, White voiced some scathing comments about his former employee. Couture now retorts through Sherdog Radio, explaining that the anger is stemmed from fear of competition.

On communication with UFC president Dana White:
“I had some rather interesting and classic texts that came to my phone. This was kind of a couple weeks ago when things started leaking.”

On White saying he was happy Couture is gone:
“I’m happy to not have to put up with and keep my mouth shut and deal with Dana as well. It goes both ways. I have a ton of respect for the UFC. In a lot of ways, I still have respect for Dana and the passion that he has for the sport and the things that him and Lorenzo have managed to do for the sport over the course of their tenure since 2000… certainly there’s plenty of things I don’t agree with.”

On Viacom owning Spike TV and Bellator:
“At the end of the day, they’ve never shied away from competition and I think that’s what’s got them on their heels a little bit now and Dana especially, is that I think they see Viacom and this whole platform as a threat and serious competition to them being considered the only brand in the marketplace in this sport.”

On the role of a coach:
“The coaches that I’ve had in my life have been in a lot of ways that standup male figure that I lacked. Having a father that was never around, those were the guys that I turned to. They guided me. They shaped and molded me in a lot of ways, so I have a ton of respect for that position and that title.”

Source: Sherdog Radio