Just how long is Dana White going to stick around for?
When WME-IMG bought UFC in 2016, many speculated it might be the end of the road for Dana White with the company. After all, it was his high school friends the Fertittas who had previously owned the company. With his friends retiring from the sport and moving onto new chapters, how long until Dana decides to do the same thing?
White himself addressed his future plans recently, and some of his comments will come as a surprise to many.
Changes in UFC Since WME-IMG Sale
While Dana White has stayed on as UFC President, there have been several changes to the company’s approach since the sale last summer. One has to wonder what Dana’s true reaction to some of the changes has been. If WME-IMG are the ones pulling the strings, does Dana agree with the changes? If not, how does that impact his willingness to continue on in his role?
Some of the more notable changes which occurred not long after the sale, included laying off many employees. Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell, whose positions were not exactly literal, were included amongst the layoffs. Longtime announcer, Mike Goldberg, did not have his contract picked up in 2017. There has also been a change in how title fights are booked. Nowadays, interim title bouts are made for no reason other than the PPV lacked a championship fight.
If WME-IMG continues to make such drastic changes to their promotional strategy, how long until Dana White just decides he’s done with them?
Dana White Addresses His Future
Seemingly, Dana White sees no end in sight to his time with the UFC, even with all the changes that have occurred in the company. Reporters caught up with him recently to speak about his future:
“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 (expletive) right now, and I’m looking forward to it. We’ll blow everybody’s minds again next year.”
Dana Comments on Further UFC Expansion
2016 and 2017 have been blow-away years for the company. The two Conor vs. Nate fights each broke UFC PPV records (the latter fight beating out the former, and the former beating out every other PPV ever). The sport has been taken to new levels of profitability, but Dana believes there is still room to grow.
He went into further details regarding the company’s expansion plans:
“We’re working on things in Mexico and China. Mexico, China and the U.K. right now. We’re working on things in Russia, and we’re working on some even bigger (expletive), which we’ll probably be announcing next year. It’s all good. Everybody thinks I’m going somewhere or doing something. I’m not going anywhere man. We’re dug in like ticks over here and we are working on great (expletive). … We’re looking at how we take combat sports to the next level.”
