Dana White usually says the general public solely know a tiny proportion of what’s actually happening behind the scenes at UFC. Properly, at present we all know a bit of bit extra as a result of White shared some wild tales about enterprise offers gone mistaken throughout an interview with FOX Information.
Based on White, the UFC had a deal signed, sealed, and delivered in 2007 to broadcast occasions on premium cable community HBO. Then the fits tried to meddle with the UFC product.
“We did a cope with HBO the place we have been gonna put fights on HBO,” White recalled. “HBO got here in and began going, ‘We’re gonna have to show this music down, that is gonna need to—’ No. Nah nah nah no. You guys aren’t working our manufacturing and telling us what to do.”
“We had already signed a deal. We have been achieved! So I actually referred to as Lorenzo [Fertitta] and mentioned ‘We are able to’t do that deal.’ He’s like ‘What do you imply we are able to’t do that deal, the deal is completed.’ ‘We gotta get out of this deal.’ And Ari [Emanuel] acquired us out of the HBO deal.”
That’s Endeavor head Ari Emanuel, who purchased the UFC in 2016 and continues to carry government management over the promotion via TKO Group Holdings. Emanuel has been concerned with UFC since he represented them throughout a 2007 contract renewal with Spike TV. And the way did he land UFC as a shopper? By getting White a gathering with HBO Sports activities.
White has no regrets about pulling the plug on the HBO deal.
“I consider if we had let HBO do what they wished to do, it might have damage us and damage our model,” White mentioned. “It could have made it stale and outdated and like boxing was.”
It wasn’t the one time White successfully vetoed an enormous enterprise deal. He says a $1 billion greenback supply from CBS to purchase UFC fell aside after he acquired into an enormous struggle with CBS-owned Showtime executives throughout a convention name.
“I used to be on the decision early, and the Showtime guys have been on the decision early,” White mentioned. “I didn’t know they have been gonna be on. I assumed we have been speaking to [CBS head] Les Moonves. So by the point Les and Lorenzo acquired on the cellphone, me and Showtime have been preventing, going at it. Actually, F you, F you, and so they acquired on and heard us going backwards and forwards, and the decision, actually, that was the top of it.”
“So Lorenzo calls me proper again instantly, goes, ‘I suppose we’re not doing a cope with CBS.’ I mentioned, ‘Yeah. Sorry.’ We acquired into it a bit of bit. I hated the blokes at Showtime. A bunch of these guys labored for the UFC once we first began out. I assumed their manufacturing sucked, I assumed they have been horrible at what they did, and I used to be very vocal about it.”
“After which it simply so occurs we’re speaking about CBS making us a one billion greenback supply to presumably purchase the corporate,” White mentioned with fun. “And by the point Lorenzo and Les Moonves get on, full blown struggle on the cellphone.”
