{"id":90815,"date":"2014-03-24T11:27:01","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T18:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=90815"},"modified":"2022-02-06T11:56:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T19:56:21","slug":"dana-white-ufc-is-worth-3-5-billion-some-would-say-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/ufcnews\/dana-white-ufc-is-worth-3-5-billion-some-would-say-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana White: “UFC is worth $3.5 Billion, some would say more”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How much is the UFC actually worth? That’s the ‘Billion’ dollar question.<\/p>\n

With the never-ending expansion of the world’s MMA leader it’s safe to say that the Fertitta’s small $2 million investment in the 90’s has paid off for them.<\/p>\n

But how much?<\/p>\n

In a recent sit-down in London with Lucy Kellaway, columnist for The Highbrow Financial Times<\/a>, the UFC boss, surprisingly, threw out a number, and it’s a big one.<\/p>\n

Check it:\u00a0(via The Financial Times<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

I try to get him to give me a tutorial on the economics of cage fighting. The top three fighters, he says, have made fortunes of $30m\u00a0dollars or more.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t let the media know a lot of the numbers. It pisses them off,\u201d White declares. He tells me that the biggest source of revenue for UFC is pay-per-view TV \u2013 the most popular fights are watched by\u00a01m\u00a0people paying $50 each \u2013 but refuses to say anything more.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using the oldest trick in the journalist\u2019s book, I drop into the conversation a figure of $1bn, which was what the New York Times estimated the business was worth a couple of years ago. Is that number still correct?<\/em><\/p>\n

White chews on a slab of mozzarella taken from his second starter and says nothing at all. Then he whispers, \u201c$3.5bn. Some would say more.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I ask how he reached that number and he replies, mysteriously, \u201cWe have numbers. You know what I mean?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet in the US his critics claim growth has stalled, with fewer fans tuning in to watch fights. Two of the biggest champions \u2013 Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva \u2013 are not currently fighting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been listening to people tell me that we we\u2019re going to fail for 13 years,” said White. “The media is full of s—. The company grows bigger every year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Both those stars are coming back, he insists, and reels off a list of other fighters. And it\u2019s not just men, women now fight too. \u201cHave you heard of Ronda\u00a0Rousey?\u201d he asks.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a rock star, man,\u201d he says. \u201cThe women are different than the men \u2013 way more emotional. They\u2019re a lot more catty. I\u2019ve been trying to figure out women my whole life and now I\u2019m trying to figure them out on a different level.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Though fans love him, they don\u2019t do so uncritically. He got a lot of stick last year when Georges St-Pierre, face mashed up and barely making sense after a fight, said on TV that he needed a break. At a press conference, White said the champion couldn\u2019t have one. When I ask if he regrets being so unfeeling, he shrugs.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t about what you thought it was about. Here\u2019s the bottom line; I\u2019m never going to be the good guy, no matter what I do or what I say. I run a company with 500 of the\u00a0baddest\u00a0dudes in the world and I am the boss.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Are bad dudes harder to manage than the norm?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNah. They\u2019ve got smaller egos than journalists. They are smart guys. And some of them are smarter than me!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I laugh, thinking he\u2019s made a self-deprecating joke but then, seeing his expression, stop at once.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our talk shifts to the future and I ask if the\u00a0Fertitta\u00a0brothers might one day sell up.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d he says, which isn\u2019t the answer I\u2019d expected. \u201cAt the end of the day we\u2019re all young guys.\u201d But for now the three of them love working together. Their secret? \u201cNo ego. People don\u2019t believe that about me but I\u2019m completely ego-free.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As this is not the popular view of White, I ask him to explain. \u201c<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you this. How many times do you think I\u2019ve been offered to write a book? Big money. Three million. One time I sat down and I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to do it.\u2019 But I got so fucking sick of talking about myself, by day two, I was done.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How much is the UFC actually worth? That’s the ‘Billion’ dollar question. With the never-ending expansion of the world’s MMA leader it’s safe to say that the Fertitta’s small $2 million investment in the 90’s has paid off for them. But how much? In a recent sit-down in London with Lucy Kellaway, columnist for The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2616,"featured_media":83873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2681],"tags":[255,11,649,15,16,7811,7810],"yoast_head":"\nDana White: "UFC is worth $3.5 Billion, some would say more" | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/ufcnews\/dana-white-ufc-is-worth-3-5-billion-some-would-say-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dana White: "UFC is worth $3.5 Billion, some would say more" | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How much is the UFC actually worth? That’s the ‘Billion’ dollar question. With the never-ending expansion of the world’s MMA leader it’s safe to say that the Fertitta’s small $2 million investment in the 90’s has paid off for them. But how much? 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