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David Senra: Dana White, UFC

davidsenra.com · 14,186 words · saved by 1 readers

Dana White grew up watching CEOs read canned statements written by lawyers. He decided early he would never do that. When Lorenzo Fertitta and his brother bought the UFC in 2001 for $2M and handed White a small equity stake and the presidency, the company had five events a year, eight or nine fighter contracts, and no television deal. Previous owners had sold off the merchandise rights, the video library, and the video game licenses just to survive. The company nearly died. Events cost $2M to produce. Revenue covered half the spending. Four years in, Fertitta called White and told him to find a buyer. Fertitta slept on it, called back the next morning, and said: "Fuck it. Let's keep going." What saved the UFC was a reality show. White had watched The Contender and identified its fatal mistake: it edited the fights. You let the fans decide whether a fight is good or bad. Spike TV passed on The Ultimate Fighter. White came back with a new offer: the UFC would pay for everything; Spike would provide airtime. The season finale — Bonner vs. Griffin — ended with the crowd chanting for one more round. Spike executives pulled White into an alley and shook hands on a renewal written on

David Senra: I was telling you, dude, I watch your press conferences. I was having dinner with a founder of a 150 billion-dollar company a couple of days ago, and they're like, "Hey, can you help us hire or find somebody to be a Chief Storyteller?" It's like, "No, that's the founder's job." And they asked, "Do you have any good examples?" I go, "Watch Dana White's press conferences after the fights." Dana White: Mm-hmm. Dana White: Uh-huh. David Senra: It's a perfect example. It's like, he's the biggest fan of his own product. Is that how you would describe the way you approach the company…

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