WWE News: Paul Heyman labels Vince McMahon a control freak, recalls warning him about UFC's popularity

Paul Heyman told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that WWE had the right to not allow the first season of UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" to air after Raw when both shows were on Spike TV. "I told (WWE) they better not let (UFC) on," Heyman said. "Yeah, I'm the asshole that almost turned it down."

Heyman also recalled warning Vince McMahon about the potential popularity of UFC. "You should be afraid of anything that will take away from your pay-per-view dollar," Heyman said. "They are going to reach into your pocket, rip it open, and all those dollars are going to flow there."

Heyman also labeled Vince a control freak. "It's the ultimate Vince control story," Heyman said regarding Vince. "If you're in the room with Vince McMahon and he sneezes, go on your Blackberry for the next 20 minutes because nothing you say to him is going to get through ... Cause he gets really pissed off. Cause he can't control the sneeze." To read more on the story, visit MMAFighting.com.

Powell's POV: Spike TV would have aired The Ultimate Fighter show, but there's no way of knowing whether it would have been as successful as it was initially had it not been for the Raw lead-in. either way. By the way, hat's not just Heyman being comical regarding Vince's hatred of sneezing. He truly does see it as some type of weakness.