Dana White opens up on the darkest days of UFC with $40 Million abyss before the Ultimate Fighter finale

Dana White did not initially find success with the UFC. It was a process and the UFC CEO opened up about the timing for sucess.

Dana White opens up on the darkest days of UFC with $40 Million abyss before the Ultimate Fighter finale

Dana White (Source: IMAGO)

CEO Dana White has transformed the UFC into one of the largest sports leagues in the world. The beginning of the journey consisted of numerous hurdles for White. There was a time when he feared that the mixed martial arts combat sports promotion would not take off.

There was a time when the UFC was a million miles away from being the mainstream, globally recognized brand it is today. Speaking to the sports edition of The Sun, this is what White said:

I don't know if I ever felt vulnerable. But I always felt like we had momentum and traction. Was the timing right? That was the question for this thing.
Dana White via The Sun
YouTube video

The UFC almost collapsed, and the owners at the time, the Fertitta brothers, aimed to sell the company. Dana White always believed in the legitimacy of the product. However, he feared if the time was right. Eventually, the Season 1 finale of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) between Forrest Griffin and the late Stephan Bonnar brought new life to the company.

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The 3-round Hall of Fame fight drew a staggering three million live viewers. The fight led UFC to its first TV deal with Spike TV for the TUF series. Slowly, the UFC gained popularity across the US with stars like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Matt Hughes. Towards the end of the 2000s, stars like Brock Lesnar, George St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva brought global recognition to the company. The company never went down and the time was right.

CEO Dana White tweets Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera’s face-off ahead of rematch

Sean O’Malley will return to the octagon in March to defend his title. CEO Dana White took to social media on Monday to announce the news. O’Malley will defend his bantamweight title against Marlon “Chito” Vera in the main event of the UFC’s March pay-per-view card. The UFC has yet to announce a specific date or location.

Marlon Vera and Sean O'Malley UFC
Marlon Vera and Sean O’Malley (Image Courtesy – Instagram)

O’Malley won the belt from Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. The title between O’Malley and Vera remains an anticipated bout due to their history. Recently, the two squared off in their first face-off leading up to the rematch. Dana White posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) of the same. The video featured White barring the fighters from close proximity. The staredown remained fierce.

At 21-8-1, Vera comes into the title fight, having defeated Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision at UFC 292. The Ecuadorian-born fighter has the most finishes (10) in the history of the UFC bantamweight division. He will look to upset O’Malley once again and capture the UFC gold in the process.

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