Thursday, March 15, 2007

Bas Rutten Tells All On Millen, PRIDE's Future [Pt. 2]


By Luis Cruz

The following is part two of our multi-part exclusive interview with MMA legend Bas Rutten. The interview was conducted by Luis Cruz of MMANews.com on March 14, 2007.

BAS RUTTEN INTERVIEW - PART TWO

Luis Cruz of MMANews.com: Now moving on to the next controversial topic. I know you read our interview with Jerry Millen here at MMANews.com.

Bas Rutten: [starts laughing]

MMANews.com: Everybody's been all over this, but apparently there's maybe a little bit of fabrication in what he told me regarding your situation and the other announcers at PRIDE and that's why you're here.

Bas Rutten: It's a total fabrication.

MMANews.com: For the people who don't know - I'm going to recap it just real quick about some of the things he said that involved you and [Stephen] Quadros and [Mauro] Ranallo as well. Now you guys all pretty much pointed the finger at him being the reason of your departures. He claimed to us that he had only worked one event before Quadros was fired and that they just didn't want him. He said that you left on your own because you had some personal problems or issues with the Japanese management or something and also that Mauro decided to leave. That's what he said and that he wanted professionals in his booth and...

Bas Rutten: ...let me cut you off. The best thing is this. With your interview, he said I and Mauro quit ourselves. On CBS Sports boxing interview he said that he was the reason and he got us fired because he wanted professionals. He got caught in his own web of lies. You see so this guy really doesn't know what he says anymore. This guy's a total fake. I mean it starts with his name. His name is not Jerry, it's Gary. But Jerry sounds cool to him so he calls himself Jerry now. Ask for his driver's license and it will say Gary.

MMANews.com: I didn't know that [laughs]

Bas Rutten: Yeah, and that's just the beginning. It's just the beginning. Look at him, everything about him is fake. He's got the blond highlights, he waxes his face so he doesn't have to shave, he walks around in his flashy things he thinks he's ...in your interview, I was laughing. I mean the way he said it [with character voice] "I got my credential reel" or "I got my resume' reel." Somebody who's good, they don't need to say that. I mean what is his claim to victory? What did he do in the world of TV? Name me one thing. He worked for the E! channel and apparently they let him go there also. But Google his name. Find out what he did. I wanna find out. I wanna see that resume'. Seriously, I wanna see what he actually did because I can still not believe it. And him saying they did not like Stephen Quadros, this is what happened. This is what I truly believe happened. The people, the represenative from PRIDE met him somewhere. Where? I don't have a clue. I think he came in with all his little talks and sweet little talks and he's like this little, yeah how do you say it. He's a sleezebag. He just makes up stories. Then he says, "I can do the commentating." So they say "ahh maybe he can replace Stephen." So what he does, he sits down in a studio and gets his friend a microphone who knows mixed-martial arts, and he puts on a headset and he tells his friend to tell him what to say.

MMANews.com: What?!

Bas Rutten: They record his voice. No, this is true! His friend told me - personally. This guy tells him in his ear, he [Millen] says what his friend says, they recorded it and sent that tape into PRIDE Fighting Championships. They [PRIDE] listen to it and they hire him! So he comes in and now that he's in he's looking around and starts to realize, because he hears Stephen and he hears me and he goes, "ok this is gonna be difficult. I just bullshitted my way in but now I gotta do this for real...oh god what am I gonna do." So he starts talking again, and next thing you know he's suddenly the producer. So what happened is instead of getting the job from Stephen Quadros which he told me, he personally told me he said listen, "I came for the job of Stephen but then they gave me the job of producer, so I don't have to fire Stephen." I said "ok." So the producer got fired and he got that job. One month later, suddenly Stephen Quadros is gone and I'm thinking "what is going on, why is he gone?" and then his [Millen's] best-buddy shows up - Damon Perry. And I'm thinking ok, that's very ...what's the word - coincidental. Stephen got fired and suddenly his best buddy is coming in? No, they don't like his best buddy. So they try another show and they didn't like him again and then I say, you know what? I know a guy - Mauro Ranallo. I worked with this guy on a movie a long time ago and this guy's a freak show. I mean you give him six pages of script and he memorizes it in two minutes. It's just insane. So they get him and this guy really does already at this time - 16 years of broadcasting. People can say whatever they want, but I truly believe this guy's phenomenal play-by-play guy. He comes in and I truly believe that Jerry Millen got jealous of the ...how do you say, the gift that Mauro Ranallo has. Mauro starts using ...Mauro uses big words. Just like Jim Lampley and all the other good commentators. Then everytime Millen says "no, no - you cannot use a big word because the mixed-martial arts world, those people are not educated and they won't understand what you're saying."

MMANews.com: He actually said that?

Bas Rutten: He said it, I swear to god. You can ask the PRIDE represenatives they were there, right there. He says you could not use the big words but the problem was Jerry could not understand the big words.

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