Former light-weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov not too long ago praised Dana White for taking the UFC from nothing to one thing to every thing and turning it into “the premier MMA league on the earth.”
White helped rework the UFC from a struggling promotion purchased by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta for $2 million in 2001 into a worldwide multi-billion-dollar sports activities powerhouse. The UFC then landed a large seven-year, $7.7 billion US media rights take care of Paramount, starting with UFC 324 in January 2026. White has been the UFC’s president since 2001 and have become CEO in 2023.
Over time, the UFC head honcho has helped develop the promotion by way of tasks resembling The Final Fighter, UFC BJJ, UFC Struggle Go, and Dana White’s Contender Sequence.
Exterior the UFC, White has additionally helped construct Energy Slap and Zuffa Boxing, with hopes of rising each manufacturers even additional sooner or later.
Khabib Nurmagomedov explains what separates Dana White from different promoters whereas giving Dana White credit score for making the UFC what it’s at the moment
Throughout a latest sit-down with Lex Fridman, Khabib Nurmagomedov praised Dana White, whereas highlighting what makes the latter particular and why White has been capable of attain a lot success in such a brief span of time. “The Eagle” mentioned:
“[Dana White] is excellent at separating enterprise and private relationships. For him, they are going to by no means overlap. He attracts a transparent line between them. In enterprise, he’s extraordinarily cold-blooded. He’s made some main choices no matter whether or not individuals like them or not. And people choices had been finest for the league and for the UFC.”
Speaking about White’s UFC-first mentality, the undefeated Russian phenom added:
“He [Dana White] at all times had that mentality from these mafia films the place household comes first. Properly, for him, the UFC at all times got here first. That’s the one manner he was capable of push that model ahead.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov lastly added that Joe Rogan, Bruce Buffer and others, who’ve been part of the UFC since its budding levels, additionally deserve credit score for the model’s success, however White deserves essentially the most credit score for his do-or-die perspective, rock-solid mindset and robust decision-making:
“After all, lots of people contributed to that success. There have been a variety of them. It’s important to credit score Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogaan [and others]. There have been a variety of issues that made the UFC distinctive, however the cherry on prime was at all times Dana. Regardless of how unsuccessful a selected occasion is perhaps, the UFC remains to be the UFC.”
“During the last 30+ years, they [UFC] have established themselves because the premier MMA league on the earth. Lots of people have cash, and lots of people have tried. Many have are available, however constructing what the UFC has constructed is extraordinarily onerous. And what they’ve achieved now with Paramount, in simply 30 years, they’ve grown to a stage that some complete sports activities wanted 100 or 150 years to achieve. It’s important to give credit score the place it’s due, and that credit score goes to at least one particular person: Dana White.”
Take a look at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s feedback about Dana White under:
