Dana White helped save the UFC from bankruptcy and turn it into the powerhouse it is today, and he made hundreds of millions of dollars doing it. He started as a small-time boxercise coach, and his career has been a rollercoaster from the beginning. He has dealt with mobsters and built himself into a brand alongside the UFC. He's very vocal and has made many infamous statements.
Dana White age, early life and education
Dana Frederick White Jr. was born on July 28th, 1969 to Dana and June White. He is of Irish-American ancestry and grew up in Manchester, Connecticut. His mother raised him and his sister, Kelly, alone.
She was always working, so his parents weren't home much. After graduating from Hermon High School, Dana worked a number of jobs. By 19 he had been a bouncer, a bellman and a road paver, and he had picked up boxing.
He realized he wasn't good enough to turn pro and went into boxercise coaching instead, moving to Boston. His classes were supported by the local municipality and aimed to get kids off the street. He and his partner also trained private clients.
Gangsters working for Whitey Bulger started calling him for extortion money. Dana ignored them until one call demanded payment by the next day. That sent him flying out of Boston to Las Vegas.
In Vegas he kept teaching boxercise and managed future UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz early in their careers. In 2001 he convinced his childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta and Lorenzo's older brother Frank to buy the struggling UFC for $2 million.
Becoming president of the UFC
When the deal closed, the company had only its name and an old octagon cage. It kept holding events and kept losing money.
White improved the advertising and sponsorships, got the UFC back on cable pay-per-view, and pushed plenty of DVD and home video releases. The UFC eventually landed a deal with Fox Sports Net.
It also ran shows in top Vegas arenas such as the MGM Grand Garden Arena. White put on exciting matchups and brought back Ken Shamrock for a third fight with Tito Ortiz at the highly successful UFC 40 in November 2002.
Launching The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)
To save the company, White went with the Fertittas' idea of an MMA reality show. It was called The Ultimate Fighter. After rejections from many big channels, he convinced Spike TV to air it by offering to pay the production costs.
It was a massive success with very high ratings, and it brought more eyes to the pay-per-views. By 2005 the company was racking up high PPV sales and its fighters were getting mainstream attention.
Buying out Strikeforce, WEC and Pride
As the UFC grew, White's company bought rivals including Strikeforce, WEC and Pride, which let him feature all their stars on UFC cards. He also brought in Brock Lesnar, a massive draw.
The company was making hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and expanded into video games, toys and other revenue streams.
The company was sold to WME-IMG in 2016. White was hesitant at first but stayed on as president. Dana White's Contender Series, which scouts young talent for the UFC, followed.
He secured a streaming deal with ESPN in 2019.
Dana White's brief boxing promotion career
At the height of Conor McGregor's popularity, Dana followed him into boxing. He co-promoted Mayweather vs McGregor. He has since said he's done with the sport and doesn't want to promote its events.
Dana White outside MMA
Dana is opinionated in the media and has dissed many of his fighters over pay.