Former UFC exec, Eric Winter, has claimed that while CEO, Dana White, continues to come under fire, he will back him to the hilt, as well as former promotion owner, Lorenzo Fertitta.
Winter, who departed the MMA leader back in 2017, served as the lead director of online properties of the UFC, heading up their revolutionary Fight Pass service since its inception.
Eventually leaving the position he held for just over two years, Winter cited a lack of time for his family as the reason he was calling time on his run with the North American-based organization.
“It is a tough decision to leave a company, but the personal sacrifices I was making commuting away from my family to Las Vegas on a weekly basis proved too challenging for me to overcome,” Winter posted of his UFC exit on his official social media in the same year.
And this week, speaking with Sports Business Unplugged, Winter reflected on his time with the promotion. Asserting loyalty to his former, he claimed they would have his backing and loyalty reciprocated until the day he died.
“My relationship paid off with Lorenzo (Fertitta) and Dana (White),” Winter said.
“They believed in me enough to where I wrote the business plan. They signed off on it, and I had a one-year engagement with FUMI Capital for how the acquisition would work and how they would manage that business,” he explained.
Speaking further about his relationship with the UFC figurehead, Winter claimed that loyalty and friendship went hand in hand with White.
“No one ever says anything bad about Lorenzo. Everyone says something bad about Dana. I will defend both of them till the day I die,” he emphasized.
Claiming that to this day, White replied to his texts within minutes despite being one of the most powerful people in sports, Winter asserted that he owed a lot to both men and reiterated that he would be loyal to them to the bitter end if need be.
It’s a testament to the loyalty that White has inspired that his friends and peers, despite being worried about certain habits of his, flock to his side. However, it should be noted that those worries are not unfounded.
Hunter Campbell, worried about White’s gambling habits
Earlier last month, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan had claimed that others in the business were worried for White’s lavish gambling habits.
An avid player of blackjack and baccarat, the veteran promotional boss has made his fair share of winnings. But as things go with gambling, he’s also suffered some monstrous losses at various casinos in ‘Sin City’.
During a recent podcast episode, describing the anxiety he faced while watching Adam Sandler’s Uncut Gems- a movie revolving around the subject, Rogan described White as a “degenerate gambler”
“I have a friend who’s very wealthy, and he’s a f***ing degenerate gambler, Dana White from the UFC,” he noted
“Degenerate and he’s nuts. I was reading an article about Hunter Campbell, who is the financial officer. And he was trying to talk to him, saying, ‘You’re killing me! Why are you doing this?’ He loves it”, he added.
But despite this widespread concern, that hasn’t deterred White from splashing the cash in Las Vegas at numerous tables — flushing his own deep pockets even further.
