The UFC was in pretty dire straits when Dana White and the Fertitta brothers as Zuffa LLC took it over. After all, the sport of MMA was seen as a savage bloodsport (human c–k-fighting, as one former US Senator put it), hemorrhaging money, and relegated to putting on shows in third-tier cities.
And things didn’t improve immediately after Zuffa bought the promotion for $2 million in 2001. The UFC continued to lose money and was seemingly going nowhere. Until the fateful night of April 9, 2005, when everything changed. That night, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on an ungodly show as part of the finale of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’s first season. Dana White called that fight “the most important” in the history of the promotion because it significantly boosted the popularity of the UFC and turned things around for a sinking ship.
This means that the decision to invest millions and put on a reality show while the UFC was losing money was the most important in UFC history. While many may credit Dana White for that decision, legendary referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy, who was in the promotion in its early days, has revealed that it may have been made by the real brain behind the operation- Lorenzo Fertitta.
“By the time you had the Forrest Griffin versus [Stephan Bonnar fight], he [Lorenzo Ferttita] was $54 million in the hole. But that show and that fight changed everything for him, and he made a ton of money. To the point where he sold it for 4.2 billion. But no he was an incredibly shrewd businessman and incredibly smart about dealing with people,” McCarthy told Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on the latter’s ‘JAXXON’ podcast.
“He used Dana in a way that, when I say use Dana, he used Dana as his pit bull, you know. He would say ‘Dana I want you to go attack this,’ and Dana would go attack it, you know. And that was Dana’s job, that’s his boss and Dana did a great job with it but it was Lorenzo that was making the decisions. Lorenzo was the brain,” he added.
Fertitta brothers and Dana White
Of course, White somewhat excels at being a pit bull. The UFC CEO is nothing if not outspoken and lets his mind known in no uncertain terms. Attacking people is something of a specialty of White’s. Not to mention he is an absolute workhorse who knows how to get things done. No wonder the UFC is among the most prestigious properties in the entire sports world today.
UFC’s rags to riches story led by Dana White
The Fertitta brothers and Dana White took the UFC from a broke, little-known sport to a global phenomenon. Today the UFC, which is valued at $11.3 billion is the most valuable combat sports promotion in the entire world. Hollywood royalty, other world-famous athletes, and even Presidents are its fans and attend UFC events, proving its mainstream popularity.
So dominant is the UFC in mixed martial arts that it has become virtually synonymous with the sport. Its impact on pop culture is also immense. This is because Joe Rogan, who has perhaps the most influential platform in the entire world, is intimately involved with the sport.
And according to McCarthy, none of this would have been possible without Lorenzo Fertitta. But to be fair to Dana White, the Fertittas haven’t been associated with the UFC since 2016 when they sold their entire stakes in the promotion to WME-IMG for around $4 billion. And the promotion has only gone from strength to strength even without them. What do you think about ‘Big’ John McCarthy’s revelations about Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White?
The post “Used Dana as His Pit Bull” – Insider Exposes Mastermind Responsible for Dana White & UFC’s $4.2 Billion Success appeared first on EssentiallySports.