Wasn’t TUF the Fertitta’s idea? Dana wanted to do a find a fighter type show with him as the star.
He isn’t completely useless but all the meaningful stuff that happened with the UFC was due to the Fertittas.
5 Likes
Dana is a dickhead but multiple billionaires have kept him on board for years to run the business. Of course, rather than realize that many will say he is lucky. The Fertittas and Ari Emmanuel have kept him close.
People bring up Powerslap (which sucks) and other business ventures but who gives a fuck if the main one he did created a sport that was banned and not regulated. He helped take it to insane multiples from losing $40mm a year. If he was that bad then Ari would’ve canned him after buying it rather than renew his contract.
2 Likes
He’s a workaholic but certainly no genius.
Powerslap is one thing but there are a laundry list of his forgotten failures in the video I posted.
He also didn’t create MMA. Not sure why you would say that man.
Yeah, Dana is an egomaniac and wanted the show to be named “The Promoter” with him front and center that would certainly have bombed. The Fertitas stepped in and made it TUF which was probably the biggest reason the UFC took off. Look at that shit show called Dana White’s Contender Series that no one gives a shit about.
1 Like
Ufc went from $40mm in the hole to worth over $13b combined with WWE.
They would’ve went under with SEG running it. Dana and the Ferittas made a main stream sport out of it that got tv deals and international expansion.
Pancras, shoot boxing, vale tudo etc events were held before UFC but none of them reached the heights or became synonymous with the sport like the UFC.
1 Like
He has had multiple Champs come from that show and it has shown to be a great feeder league.
How many viewers does it have?
That isn’t purely Dana’s doing is my point.
Right place at the right time for sure. Getting the Ultimate Fighter was yuge for UFC. Getting the spike deal I think it was made it accessible. Not having just PPV events is what made it blow up more than anything.
How many viewers should a feeder league have? It is sold content to ESPN for ad revenue that has had about 9 seasons. ESPN didn’t release viewership but Paramount released numbers for UFC 324 which featured 3 DWCS alumni stars on the main card including O’Malley.
I never said it was only Dana. What I am saying is that multiple successful business men have seen value in him enough to have him be the longest tenured executive and shareholder in the company. You guys say he got lucky because of connections and the counter would be that those connections saw him as the guy to see the vision through. I doubt the Ferttitas or Ari are charitable enough to bestow Dana with hundreds of millions just because they shared a Algebra 2 class in HS or Dana donated toa political campaign.
I’m not saying he’s worthless. UFC is better off with him than with Hunter Campbell. I also think once Dana is gone UFC gets more woke and lame. More female announcers etc.
2 Likes
I am totally amazed that Dana hasn’t been me’tooed already with all the rumors about him and ring girls and female fighters.
The UFC was a powder keg waiting to explode. He got the job because he was friends with the Fertitas. How much of the spike tv ultimate fighter deal was because of Dana and wouldn’t be done with someone else I dont know. Definitely right place right time but you can’t argue with the results he had.
2 Likes
I know a fighter that fought in the UFC for many years. He really liked Dana but said Dana wanted to micromanage everything til the last detail and was a workaholic.
1 Like
Pre head shave Dana seemed really passionate about the sport as a whole.
2 Likes
Not unusual in business, but probably most would have to quit after 1 or 2 failures because the ability to secure venture capital is used up. I.e. nobody wants to bet on a loser.
Any decent promoter could have played his role if Ferittas money and connections were behind it.
Rumors say Dana was against both TUF and signing Brock - two of the biggest things UFC ever did.
2 Likes
What’s crazy is all of danas failures have been after the UFC success because he has money and people to give him money to waste
Lots of stupid ones.
Like an ultimate fighter show but with surfers instead of something ridiculous like that.
That seems obvious.
We still have the same stupid nu-metal music at fights ffs
I think he made a lot of things shitty because that’s his taste.
1 Like
Luck is a huge part of the wealth equation that almost no one except the most humble are willing to admit.
1 Like