Dana White is synonymous with the UFC. While this billion-dollar organization has hundreds, if not thousands of employees, and is run by more than just one man, White is the face of the operation. So, will the company continue to grow if and when he decides to step away? The UFC president strongly believes so.
Speaking to Sports Business Journal, White claimed that while he does run the company top to bottom, he has managed to build a self-sustaining organization that would keep running even after he was gone.
We have built a business that will go on with or without me. The only thing with me having here is that it would just be different. It would be somebody else’s vision. I run the UFC top to bottom… So you know, yes, it will go on and live forever… It will just be different.
The organization has gone from the days of hosting fights in casinos to being part of a global sports conglomerate in a span of a few years and continues to grow into new territories under White.
But he has shown interest in venturing into other combat sports arenas like boxing; a sport he has always had a great love for.
And some time ago, he seemed really into his new venture, PowerSlap, which for better or worse had been garnering a lot of views on social media for its shocking content. At one point, the UFC president had even compared its viewership to the NFL and NBA, only to be fact-checked by the entirety of the internet.
Dana White says Power Slap’s social metrics are greater than “the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, F1, WWE” combined. pic.twitter.com/yTlEEHtYNZ
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 7, 2023
The point is, that Uncle Dana might find himself pursuing other interests after the unbelievable success he’s had with the UFC.
So, where UFC goes without Dana White; there is much to debate there. For instance, where are the promotion’s next big superstars? Will the UFC allow individual sponsors again? Are they going to start paying their fighters better?
UFC post Mr. White
Often when asked about fighter pay, White has shrugged it off by claiming nobody has to fight if they don’t want to and they could go elsewhere. But this doesn’t solve the problem. Fighters risk their lives inside the octagon and as new information comes out about brain damage and CTE among other long-term illnesses and repercussions, the demand for better wages is only going to get stronger.
Declaration of Shane Carwin pic.twitter.com/9HwA79M4M8
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) October 8, 2024
The UFC also doesn’t allow for individual sponsors, which means the companies are not creating superstars for themselves. While back in the mid-2010s, UFC landed with both Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor in the span of a few years, that aura has since died down. Nobody else from the company has since broken into the mainstream like that. And without the right kind of push, the company can only hope for miracles.
These are only two of a host of issues plaguing the company right now. And sooner or later, with or without Mr. White, there is only so much that can be done to plug these holes. The sport will grow and expand as all sports inevitably do. And if the competition catches up and that monopoly no longer exists, it might be rough seas for the organization.
