LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White didn’t get a lot of support when he decided to sign [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag].

Despite coming in a pound over the flyweight limit, Hadley (8-0) was awarded a UFC deal when he submitted Season 29 “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Mitch Raposo in the second round. White was impressed by the unbeaten former Cage Warriors champion and decided to go against everything he normally preaches about rewarding fighters who miss weight.

“When I left the back room, my instructions were not to sign this guy,” White said during the DWCS 43 post-fight news conference. “According to Hunter (Campbell), Sean (Shelby) and Mick (Maynard) stormed out of the room when I did and took off tonight, so they’re not happy about it. I just have a gut feeling that this kid has something special, and I broke all my own rules and didn’t listen to what they said. So hopefully I’m right on this, and this kid doesn’t make a d*ckhead out of me.”

White explains that not only did Hadley miss weight, but he wasn’t very professional towards some of the UFC staff.

“He wasn’t very friendly,” White said. “He’s not a very popular guy around here this week. He seemed shocked when I told him that. I just saw him out in the hallway, and I said, ‘Listen, don’t worry about it. Yesterday was yesterday, let’s focus on tomorrow. So let’s make this a great relationship from here on out and let’s do great things together.’ So hopefully that’s the case.”

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In his post-fight interview with the media, Hadley chalked it up to a misunderstanding and likely something lost in translation due to cultural differences, but White just laughed off his notion.

“So everybody this week thought that he was an asshole because there’s a discrepancy between the sense of humor? We got lots of guys from the U.K. here, and that doesn’t happen a lot,” White said. “Although (Michael) Bisping, Bisping’s right up there, too. But Bisping is part of the family now, he’s been here for so long. People know what they’re getting from Mike.”

When asked if matchmakers will intentionally give Hadley a tough road after he went against their wishes, White stood firm on his decision.

“Probably. Good luck to him, though,” White laughed. “He’s a talented kid. I like the way he fights. He’s super aggressive. I like the way he fights off his back. When’s the last time you saw a kid that busy on his back? I screamed to him, ‘Who the hell is your jiu-jitsu coach? You’re a purple belt? That’s crazy.’ I think he’s special, broke my own rules, pissed off the boys, so we’ll see if I’m right or wrong.”

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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] thinks cultural differences are what led to the UFC staff being upset with his behavior.

According to UFC president Dana White, Hadley (8-0) wasn’t very friendly and didn’t leave the best impression on everyone, including the matchmakers, who weren’t keen on signing him after he submitted Mitch Raposo at Dana White’s Contender Series 43 on Tuesday.

But despite Hadley’s alleged unprofessionalism and weight miss, White decided to award him a UFC deal anyway. Speaking to the media after his win, an emotional Hadley seemed rather perplexed at what he could have possibly said to cause such a frenzy behind the scenes and thinks he was likely misunderstood due to being British.

“To be honest, I don’t know what I’ve said to someone to upset them,” Hadley said during the DWCS 43 post-fight news conference. “But I want to straight out say, if I’ve upset anyone, I haven’t meant it. It didn’t come from a malicious way. That’s not my nature. That’s not me as a person. I’m not nasty in a malicious way, so I just feel like maybe it’s like a misinterpretation because of me being – like with Bisping, people don’t understand Bisping because he’s British.

“Even when I was at Whole Foods, I was like to someone, ‘You all right, mate?’ And then he was like, ‘Yeah I’m all right. Are you alright?’ I don’t think he understood what I was saying. I don’t really know what I’ve said and done to anyone. Next time I’m just gonna keep my mouth closed, I ain’t even gonna say anything, so I don’t upset no one because obviously, I don’t want something like that hindering what I’ve been working for my whole entire life. Straight up, sorry to anyone I’ve upset. I didn’t mean it from a malicious way.”

Hadley’s road to the UFC didn’t come without some drama, but the 25-year-old former Cage Warriors champion is ready to take the flyweight division by storm.

“I’ll fight whoever,” Hadley said. “Let me smash up little Figueiredo (Francisco), the little Figgy. I’ll smash his head in. No problem, easy work. I’m gonna be champion in here real quick.”

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