Dana White: 'I'm Not Going Anywhere'
Dana White: 'I'm Not Going Anywhere'
UFC President Dana White addresses his personal future and shows excitement for the organization's road forward.
There is perhaps no individual more identifiable with the UFC brand than Dana White.
The promotion's president has been out in front of the organization he partially owned with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta from the jump and is still holding strong in the here and now. White championed the cause for a sport he believed in and worked diligently to build a company that went from the brink of shuttering and bankruptcy to last year's mega sale to WME-IMG for north of $4 billion.
While White has truckloads of rifts with the media, off color comments and controversies attached to his legacy, it's one that still stands tall because of the attention he's helped bring to the operation at large. Draw whatever opinion you'd like of the man, but it's safe to say without his promotional talents the UFC doesn't make it to the heights the company has achieved.
That being said, 2017 is a new day and age for the most successful outfit in mixed martial arts.
With the Fertitta brothers out of the picture, Conor McGregor off to box Floyd Mayweather and former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey unofficially retired, the UFC's once star-studded roster is suddenly lacking in that department. The first two quarters of their 2017 campaign have come and gone at a volume much lower than anything in years past, and this has left fight fans curious about the future.
Rather than looking forward to the next big card, which is a state of expectation White helped create, MMA's passionate fan base is stuck looking back at how things used to be and wondering if the sport will ever return to its glory.
With the Irish superstar set to compete in the biggest fight in the history of combat sports and embattled pound-for-pound king Jon Jones set to return later this month, White is positive things are looking up for his promotion. Furthermore, despite speculation he would cash out and walk away following the McGregor fight on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, White has doubled down on his tenure at the helm of the UFC extending long into the future.
The polarizing president addressed this issue and much more in a recent interview with John Morgan and MMA Junkie. White shared his enthusiasm for next year's lineup and shared insight as to why he's going to be leading the UFC for years to come.
"What am I going to do?" White said. "What am I going to do? People treat it like I hit the lottery. I had money before. It's not like I hit the lottery and I'm just going to take off and disappear. I love this sport, and obviously the hardest part about the sale was leaving the Fertitta brothers. We've been together for 20 years in business together, and I went through a hard time. It was like a divorce. I went through that, I got through it, and I'm back on the ball and doing my thing.
"I love it. I'm not going anywhere, and we're actually working on some crazy s*** right now, and I'm looking forward to it. We'll blow everybody's minds again next year."
The promotion's president has been out in front of the organization he partially owned with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta from the jump and is still holding strong in the here and now. White championed the cause for a sport he believed in and worked diligently to build a company that went from the brink of shuttering and bankruptcy to last year's mega sale to WME-IMG for north of $4 billion.
While White has truckloads of rifts with the media, off color comments and controversies attached to his legacy, it's one that still stands tall because of the attention he's helped bring to the operation at large. Draw whatever opinion you'd like of the man, but it's safe to say without his promotional talents the UFC doesn't make it to the heights the company has achieved.
That being said, 2017 is a new day and age for the most successful outfit in mixed martial arts.
With the Fertitta brothers out of the picture, Conor McGregor off to box Floyd Mayweather and former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey unofficially retired, the UFC's once star-studded roster is suddenly lacking in that department. The first two quarters of their 2017 campaign have come and gone at a volume much lower than anything in years past, and this has left fight fans curious about the future.
Rather than looking forward to the next big card, which is a state of expectation White helped create, MMA's passionate fan base is stuck looking back at how things used to be and wondering if the sport will ever return to its glory.
With the Irish superstar set to compete in the biggest fight in the history of combat sports and embattled pound-for-pound king Jon Jones set to return later this month, White is positive things are looking up for his promotion. Furthermore, despite speculation he would cash out and walk away following the McGregor fight on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, White has doubled down on his tenure at the helm of the UFC extending long into the future.
The polarizing president addressed this issue and much more in a recent interview with John Morgan and MMA Junkie. White shared his enthusiasm for next year's lineup and shared insight as to why he's going to be leading the UFC for years to come.
"What am I going to do?" White said. "What am I going to do? People treat it like I hit the lottery. I had money before. It's not like I hit the lottery and I'm just going to take off and disappear. I love this sport, and obviously the hardest part about the sale was leaving the Fertitta brothers. We've been together for 20 years in business together, and I went through a hard time. It was like a divorce. I went through that, I got through it, and I'm back on the ball and doing my thing.
"I love it. I'm not going anywhere, and we're actually working on some crazy s*** right now, and I'm looking forward to it. We'll blow everybody's minds again next year."