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The Ultimate Fighting Champion: Dana White is Born

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) used to be nothing more than an underground fighting league, and one which was scarcely accepted in the U.S. That was, until Dana White came along. White transformed the UFC into one of the most mainstream and popular sports on the scene today. By cleaning up its image and marketing it as a legitimate sport, White was able to create a successful organization, whose events can now be seen on television in more than 35 countries around the world.

Stepping Into the Ring: The UFC Fights Back

“It was around 1997 or 1998 that it all turned around for us,” says White. “We were all boxing guys and I used to think UFC was a joke. I would say, ‘those guys would get their asses kicked by a boxer.” That was, until White and the Feretti brothers began taking Jujitsu lesson, which White says, “opened our eyes to a whole new world. It literally changed my life.”

Lesson #1: Fight the Limits That Are Imposed On You

When White first began thinking about taking control of the UFC, there was nary a supportive voice to be found. Based on the organization’s past history, there were few who believed it could become the success that White envisioned. Almost immediately after the purchase, the media began to speculate about the “oodles and oodles of money” that the company was already losing. Nevertheless, just five years later, the UFC had become the largest pay-per-view provider in the world, and was generating more in tax revenues for the state of Nevada than had any boxing promoter in the past. How did White do it?

Lesson #3: Give Them an Experience They Will Never Forget

“Three guys bought UFC when it was dead,” says White. “It was over. The sport was dead and no one cared.” But, if the sport was dead, how come these three guys decided to buy the UFC? Well, says White, “We didn’t buy this to make billions of dollars. We saw something in this sport and in the fighters that we thought was incredible.”

Lesson #4: A Solid Reputation is Worth Its Weight in Gold

When White inherited the UFC, he says the stigma that came along with it was almost unbearable. People would hear the words ‘ultimate fighting’ and immediately have a negative image in their minds. It was not until at least two or three years later, after a serious repositioning of the entire company and a change of brand strategy, that the UFC was able to make some headway.

Lesson #5: Do Not Waste Time Marketing Outside Your Target Audience

“If you take four street corners, and on one they are playing baseball, on another they are playing basketball and on the other, street hockey,” says White. “On the fourth corner, a fight breaks out. Where does the crowd go? They all go to the fight.”

Under the Bright Lights of Success: How White Fought His Way to the Top

“I’m pretty happy with the way everything has worked out with UFC,” says White. “We’ve come a long way in a couple of years.” From working as a hotel bellhop to managing a multi-million dollar company, White has most certainly come a long way from where he started off. How did this boy who could barely make it through high school, become a millionaire and the envy of men across America?

Dana White Quotes

Dana White Quotes

Lesson #2: It Takes Passion to Win the Fight

White might not have been a stellar student, but thanks to his achievements with the UFC, his high school was nevertheless proud of him. So much so, that they even invited him back to deliver the commencement address twenty years after his own graduation. “It was pretty cool,” said White. “If you would have asked me ten years ago if this is where I would have been in ten years, I would have laughed in your face.”

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