The fight that popularized the UFC and made Dana White a millionaire

UFC President Dana White is probably the most important person in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world right now. Although he’s not putting his body on the line to entertain fans, White is leading the business in this segment. UFC And some of the most anticipated fights involved. Although he currently runs a successful business at this point, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has not always been a successful endeavor.

The company was founded in November 1993 and held its first PPV that same month. After selling 86,000 PPVs with UFC 1 and nearly 300,000 PPVs with UFC 3, the company saw a steep decline under the stewardship of Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). MMA as a whole was under threat as several states in the United States banned the sport from taking place.

At one stage it seemed as if the institution was sinking. But, in 2001, Zuffa bought the company Only 2 million dollars. Led by Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta and Dana White, the company had new hopes for success. However, turning the ship around was no easy task and they struggled to make ends meet for years. However, this changed with the introduction of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) in 2005.

In the TUF 1 finale, it was Stefan Bonner and Forrest Griffin Their now legendary fight. During the fight, it generated millions of views and helped spread the word of the campaign. According to a report from Futon Critic, the finale generated a massive viewership of 2.6 million. The rest, they say, was history. Spike TV renewed the contract for TUF and it turned the UFC into a huge entity overnight.

Dana White makes her first million-dollar paycheck since the TUF boom

Dana White is currently the richest MMA promoter in the world. According to a report by Celebrity Net Worth, the 54-year-old is worth $500 million. Although he has many ways to make money, Dana is most well known for his work with the UFC and he earns an estimated $20 million from the company each year. However, this was not the case in the early days of the company.

During a recent appearance on ‘Pound 4 Pound With Kamaru & Henry,’ White revealed when he earned his first big payday from an MMA promotion.

he said “We were always in budget meetings, budget meetings, budget meetings, then after ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ I want to say it was probably six (2006) or seven (2007), I don’t remember, maybe seven (2007). And, we were in a budget meeting and Lorenzo had this f*cking big whiteboard, he always liked writing on the whiteboard. So I’m watching this thing play out on the whiteboard and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, does it say I’m going to make a million dollars this year?’ And, Lorenzo was, ‘Yes’.

Dana shared that he owned 10% of the company at the time. So, after accounting for all expenses, White got his share of the profit as owner and it was about $1 million. Neither Dana nor the Fertitta brothers have looked back since, selling the company to Endeavor in 2016 for $4.025 billion. It was the most lucrative buyout in sports history until the 2023 sale of the Washington Commanders for $6.1 billion.

The UFC is worth $12.1 billion after the TKO merger with WWE

While other MMA promotions such as ONE Championship and the PFL have found their place in the MMA world, there is no doubt that the UFC remains the most lucrative and lucrative entity in the sport. In late 2023, the UFC and WWE merged into one company after Endeavor purchased the Vince McMahon-led Pro Wrestling Company. Two sports organizations Merged into one companyTKO, valued at $21.4 billion.

Of that, the UFC is worth $12.1 billion. This means that the value of MMA promotions has increased nearly 3X since Endeavour’s record-breaking purchase in 2016. There are good reasons behind such high valuations. According to a 2023 report by ESPN’s Mark Raimondi, the company earned $891 million in revenue in 2020 despite struggles due to the pandemic.

UFC revenue was $1.14 billion in 2022, up from $1.03 billion in 2021, according to SEC filings. pic.twitter.com/sVJewPgrmx

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) May 12, 2023

But, in 2021 and 2022, they earned $1.031 billion and $1.140 billion Revenue respectively. It just shows how the speed of profit has increased over the years. In 2023, the company records its highest revenue, which is $1.3 billion! While the exciting product is the main reason behind the sustainability, the company’s leaders, including Dana White, also deserve a lot of credit for the huge growth.