Dana White says he has the plan to take the UFC to the next level, so “Shut the (expletive) up”
Published on: 3rd July, 2009
Dana White says he has the plan to take the UFC to the next level, so "Shut the (expletive) up" | 
We all know that Dana White has one of the hardest jobs in the business and did not come into the UFC with a degree from Harvard business school. He was a normal guy, who with the help of the Fertitta brothers was able to turn around a company that was about to go out of business and turned it into the world’s largest Mixed Martial Arts company. Along the way he lost $40 million, but was able to help create The Ultimate Fighter which brought the sport in the spotlight once again. Now with the UFC in the process of global expansion and a plan to become a household name. Many have questioned if Dana White is the man to take the UFC to “The next level” and put the world’s biggest MMA company on par with MLB, FIFA, NHL and the NFL.
Dana White responded to the question that ESPN “E:60” raised in their segment on the UFC president in a new interview with Eurosport Yahoo!.
Dana on E:60
Dana on E:60
“The whole ESPN thing, ‘Can the UFC go where it needs to go with Dana White?’ Shut the (expletive) up. Who’s going to do it? I’m the one who’s been doing it. Now someone else is going to come in and take things over?”
“Smart guys with a lot of money are out there trying to make this work and they aren’t,” White said, laughing that a lot of rich, learned people have failed where a guy whose formal education consists of dropping out before completing one semester at UMass-Boston and doing a brief stint at a community college. This wasn’t a conventional business and I didn’t go by the business school books on how this should be built.”
White also responded to the criticism that he faced over the infamous “Video game rights” war between UFC management and American Kickboxing Academy. He responded by pointing out that he is attempting to make his fighters money down the line for their image and likeness.
“We’ve created a business where 15 years from now Chuck Liddell can still be making money on royalty checks,” White said. “I can tell you this right now; Leon Spinks isn’t collecting any checks right now. He’s not collecting royalties because he once boxed on a Don King or a Bob Arum card.”
White once again pointed out that while “E:60″ raised the question (if he is the best man to take the UFC into the next level) they never actually did mention someone who may be better for the job. He also pointed out that he is the man with the plan right now and will guide the UFC there in the future.
“Idiotic,” he said. “Nobody wants this (expletive) job, believe me. You better love this job to do it.
“Here’s what I believe,” he said. “I’m the guy with the road map. I’m the guy who knows where I want to go with this thing. I know what my end game is. I know where it is. When this thing is a sport, all over the entire world, and you can take the UFC to any city in any country, just like soccer, then I did it. I did what I set out to do. That’s why I was put on this planet. That’s my job, my destiny, whatever the (expletive) you want to call it.”
“My 2 Cents”
While ESPN’s question raised the question if White is the man to guide the UFC into the future, one thing they also did not do is provide us with a name of a person who could do a better job. One thing that I know regardless of how people feel about Dana White as a person, he has only made on mistake that hurts the UFC’s credibility or exposure was calling Loretta Hunt’s source a Gay slur. While this is not something we could ignore, we also cannot ignore the fact that he also did apologize right away (which is still no excuse) and did not get mainstream exposure which would have really hurt the UFC.
White may be a “Brute” in some ways and you may not always agree with the way that he conducts business, but the bottom line is we are approaching a summer stacked with great UFC cards while Affliction may be making ”Trilogy” their last card.
Dana White may not be the most popular person in the sport, but he produces time and time again the best cards MMA fans want to see. Dana White’s work ethic is also something of legend as you have seen in his video blogs when his cameraman has fallen asleep several times attempting to keep up with him during his normal business day before an event. White has said on several occasions that he only sleeps 3 to 4 hours a night, because he loves the business so much. Which is something me and Nelo can tell you, you have to do when attempting to run a business at it’s full strength and maximum potential.
Now he needs to produce the best cards that will gain the attention of mainstream consumers and potential sports fans who have never watched the UFC before.
Alberto Martinez "The Narcisist" is the founding owner of URDirt.com.
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Don’t agree with you Narc I think Dana should handle local stuff like booking but not public situations he doesn’t know ho w to handle business he doesn’t have 100 percent control over like getting the UFC on TV
Here is the truth.
The only reason the ufc is a success is cuz one fertitta bro was on the NSAC. When the first owner of the ufc begged them to allow regulation that Fertitta bro got the whole NSAC to deny regulation so that the ufc went down the toilet.
So the fertitta bros shut down the oportunity for the ufc to go mainstream, then the fertitta bros bought the ufc. After the 2 bros bought it they both begged on hands & knees for the NSAC to allow regulation on their new business.
This is the way dana’s friends do business. They make it illegal & impossible for you to do business till you fold, then they buy you up & make the business legal.
& btw, when the first pitch was made to Dana to do the TUF shows Dana hated the idea & expletively spoke against it till the Fertitta bros forced it to happen over Dana’s head, after which Dana rewrote history & said the idea was his.
After I’ve know this & so much more dirt on Zuffa & Dana do you see why I can’t stand the scum sucking promotion.
BTW Dana’s only experience in boxing is that he used to teach boxercise to middle aged women, the guy never did a pro fight & knows nothing about boxing, & before that for years he worked as a bellhop for a vegas resort.
FTW
Can I bow, LOL
@Fujita, That’s not entirely true I agree with you on a lot of things, but you can’t tell me that the Fertittas made the decisions to make the UFC what they are today. Dana is a big part of how the UFC has formed into the giant it is today. Look at the cards they are making thats him and Joe Silva who make that happen.
Dana has gotten the UFC here so why doubt him now Shaw, Sakikabara, Atencio have all tried and have failed. the only other person in my eyes who even deserves mention is Afromowitz from Strikeforce
I have never heard anything about Dana hating the TUF idea. But, you are right about the part that they make it hard to try in Vegas especially when they tell Radio stations and TV stations they will cancel their advertising with them too
Dana is the man when it comes to making fights no doubt but when it comes to business he sucks the UFC sells millions of ppvs and he can’t get it on TV? EliteXC did it already why can’t the UFC does Dana know the ratings the UFC would get on Fox or CBS? Dana won’t grow MMA until he steps up as a business man
@LHK22, Dana aint doin a tv deal unless he has total contol. EliteXC got fucked on their deal and thats a big reason they’re out of business. We all need to thank our lucky fuckin stars Dana is around cuz without him MMA would be damn near extinct
@Mike,
It’s crazy how the ufc succeeded where Pride didn’t cuz only since Pride collapsed did the UFC start getting more top rated fighters.
@Fujita, C’mon, besides Rampage and The Spider, who’s making any waves in the UFC?
@Mike, True, but that’s more than they used to have. I would never count Tito as top 10 cuz of his competition. IMO before all they had were guys in a show instead of actually having a show.
Thiago is top IMO, hughes never was IMO
@Fujita, The hype machine is what makes people watch the ufc and Dana is the one driving it. The ufc would be just as good without the pride fighters, IMO
@Fujita, Pride was starting to come to America, but they expanded too late to make any waves or get a better market for fans. Remember they did do 2 shows in the Las Vegas and sold a good amount of tickets.
@Narcisist, I think it was the simple Branding of the ufc that killed them here. In japan it was that their deal with the tele fell threw.
I think the ufc is beyond subpar on so many different levels, but the simple fact that they’ve created a brand has been the only success they’ve had that has meant so much interms of success in so many transitional ways.
[...] Excerpt from: Dana White says he has the plan to take the UFC to the next level … [...]
hahahaha dana stole Les Goldman’s line…DIET COKE!
could you explain, I tried looking it up with no luck.
@Fujita, in Tropic Thunder Four Leaf Tayback starts telling Les about how you have to handle actors. Les says “Who is this guy? Well, you’re a great American. NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME DO MY JOB!”
@Rick Johnson, Well, Dana will never be as dramatic as I am.
For the first 3 months of 09 I wore a samich board that says the “end is nigh, Get Jesus”. Walking up & down in my town