UFC CEO Dana White Compliments Art Form of Combat Sports: ‘We Get It And We Like It’

Dana White shares why fighting is popular as a sport.

Mar 19, 2022; London, UK; Dana White greets fans before the fight between Jai Herbert (red gloves) / Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

UFC CEO Dana White has always held fighting to a different standard compared to other professional sports, and for good reason.

Despite claiming he would never do podcast appearances again just a month ago, two recent interviews surfaced with White – Sage Steele and Lex Fridman.

During a segment of the Fridman conversation, which covered everything from White’s early memories of watching Muhammad Ali, and Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard to the evolution of his role as president and CEO of the MMA leader.

White, who will turn 55 in July and has remained at the forefront of the UFC since 2001, said fighting is just one of those sports people attach themselves to or don’t pick up on at all. According to him, there’s no middle ground.

“I don’t care what color you are, what country you come from, or what language you speak,” White told Fridman. “We’re all human beings. Fighting’s in our DNA. We get it and we like it. And, it’s true. Fighting’s in our DNA. It’s a part of who we are. You know, no matter where you are when a fight breaks out, it creates this f****** energy, this buzz, this sense of fear. I mean, a lot of different emotions happen in people when fights break out.”

White added the humanistic nature of a fight is arguably one way the UFC has gone from a once-spectacle to a mainstream juggernaut on ESPN. When White was still managing Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and others, he found himself learning about different fighter backgrounds, including education and occupation.

As early as 2001, White said he knew the sport could grow if marketed the right way, and, according to BetMGM, the UFC is worth $12 billion in 2024.

“Absolutely,” White said, agreeing with Fridman about humans loving fighting. “And that was my thought process going into buying the UFC. I believed this [sport] would work everywhere, and thank God we were right.”

Despite questions about retirement, White, who signed a seven-year extension with the UFC in 2019 has no plans of doing so anytime soon, nor does he want to.

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