The bombastic president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship discusses the massive deal that put UFC on the broadcast map and other issues facing his business.
Dana White doesn't pull his punches, but he doesn keep his promises. In October 2010, the bombastic president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship created quite a stir in the sports and mixed martial arts worlds when he guaranteed to B&C he would have his sport on broadcast television by the end of 2011. For a sport once dismissed as 'human cockfighting' that was quite a proclamation, considering White had no deal in hand atr the time.
But White, as he has often done while building the UFC into a premiere television sports property, backed up the brash talk. On Nov. 12, the UFC debuted on the Fox broadcast network with a one-hour show that featured a heavyweight championship fight. While the fight ended with a stunning knockout in only 64 seconds-welcome heavyweight combats, folks- the night completed an improbable (unless you ask White) ascension of the sport to literal primetime status.
But Fox was not alone in wanting UFC. Several networks desired the former Spike property and a deal was originally in place with Comcast-NBC that would have seen UFC by the G4 network and put its programming across the NBC broadcast and cable properties.
While White won't comment, sources say the NBC deal fell through because UFC wanted its popular Ultimate Fighterreality show to air on USA Network, a development that was opposed by World Wrestling Enterteinment, a huge player for USA. All White will say is: "We were right there; we were very, very close".
undaunted as usual, White quickly audible and landed the massive Fox deal that put UFC in the spotlight, put his programming on Fox, FX and Fuel and put hundreds of millions of dollars in the UFC coffers.
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