Did Dana really make the majority of the business decisions, or did Lorenzo?

[rex kramer]

Lately I've been watching these YT videos from an ex mob boss, Michael Franzese. On one of them he was talking about how the mob operates their businesses and their entire organization. Basically they use a front man to deal with the public image stuff, and for legal reasons and whatnot. But there's usually a bigger boss behind the front man that really makes all the decisions.

And I have no idea if Dana or the Fertittas are affiliated with the mob in any way....but I doubt anybody would be shocked to find out they were. Everything about them is stereotypically associated with that life. The fight business, Vegas, Italian brothers, casino owners with public ties to commissions, etc.

So do you think this is how the UFC power structure really worked? Lorenzo being way more involved than he appeared, and him making all the calls? Or do you think it really ran the way they portrayed it to the public, with Dana basically running things with Lorenzo only joining in on the biggest company decisions?

 

[theleerygoose]

Im pretty sure Dana runs things and the Fertittas don’t give a fuck. They are billionaires and have probably hundreds (thousands?) of other investments.

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

Dana was the front man just like he is now. He has pull for sure, because he was there from the beginning and knows how to make money for the company, but at the end of the day, he'll do what he's told.

 

[Pierced7681]

Lorenzo was the big boss. When Tito couldn’t get a deal done with the baldfather he went over his head and dealt with Lorenzo.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Dana bows down to his superiors and corporate overlords like everyone else.

 

[ejazahmednit]

It was Lorenzo, sure Dana had pull but Lorenzo laid down the bottomline

 

[Dave Poodle]

Dana did the vast majority of it but big money decisions would have to go through the Fertittas. If they really wanted something to happen they could step in and get it done.

 

[rex kramer]

I think it was really Lorenzo doing everything. Including the unpopular decisions that Dana ended up taking the hate for....like fighter pay, mandatory fighter uniforms, closing down SF instead of keeping it going, closing Pride instead of keeping it going, flooding the market with crap tier cards, and so on.

Possibly it was Lorenzo that pulled Helwani's press pass that time too....lol but nah that was probably a Dana level decision.

 

[mjfan23]

Wme - espn- fox - Disney have combined to show Dana what the real meaning to a front man is. The mafia had nothing on MSM

 

[RicardinhoPT]

Dana was the front man just like he is now. He has pull for sure, because he was there from the beginning and knows how to make money for the company, but at the end of the day, he'll do what he's told.

He wasn't there from the beginning. But I agree on the rest

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

He wasn't there from the beginning. But I agree on the rest

well beginning of it being profitable. He was managing fighters before the Fertittas bought it. And it was going under before they bought it, and he supposedly was the one that convinced them to buy it. He might not have had anything to do with UFC 1 and a few after that, but he was there before it became profitable, and possibly the reason that it became profitable.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Lorenzo would have got Chuck to throw the kicks.

 

[Prologue]

Dana conned the Fertitas.

 

[rex kramer]

And it was going under before they bought it, and he supposedly was the one that convinced them to buy it. .

I heard somewhere that before Art Davie and the other original owner sold the UFC to Zuffa....they were really trying to go toward regulation (just like Dana ended up doing later on) but they couldn't get anywhere with any state athletic commissions. And back then one of the Fertittas was on the NSAC board iirc, and I think another NSAC big wig joined the UFC shortly after Zuffa bought it too. Mark Rattner maybe? idk I can't remember who it was.

Point is, that's pretty shady if the Fertitittas and their people had any influence on the original UFC owners not being able to get regulated. Then bought it for a mere 2 million. Then used their NSAC connections to get it regulated, which is the main thing that saved the company.

Makes me wonder if Zuffa and their people had anything to do with that Japanese newspaper somehow getting evidence of PRIDE's yakuza connections. But that's just speculation for fun on my part.

 

[mightywang1]

Fertitas managed the finances,
Dana managed the decision of the promotion.

 

[froggyluv]

Isnt Dana a half-billionaire hisself? I dont know how much pull a full billionaire would have on a half one -not much. Fertittas were probably thrilled Dana salvaged the UFC after the Ultimate fighter show blastoff- they recouped money, scored major profit and probably let him do whatever the F he wanted after that. Hence his "I dont give a F " attitude since

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

I heard somewhere that before Art Davie and the other original owner sold the UFC to Zuffa....they were really trying to go toward regulation (just like Dana ended up doing later on) but they couldn't get anywhere with any state athletic commissions. And back then one of the Fertittas was on the NSAC board iirc, and I think another NSAC big wig joined the UFC shortly after Zuffa bought it too. Mark Rattner maybe? idk I can't remember who it was.

Point is, that's pretty shady if the Fertitittas and their people had any influence on the original UFC owners not being able to get regulated. Then bought it for a mere 2 million. Then used their NSAC connections to get it regulated, which is the main thing that saved the company.

Makes me wonder if Zuffa and their people had anything to do with that Japanese newspaper somehow getting evidence of PRIDE's yakuza connections. But that's just speculation for fun on my part.

yea I've always heard those rumors too. Fertittas keeping it basically illegal until they bought it, then boom, all of the sudden it's legal. As far as conspiracy theories go, based on the history, this one seems pretty plausible.

 

[Pierced7681]

I heard somewhere that before Art Davie and the other original owner sold the UFC to Zuffa....they were really trying to go toward regulation (just like Dana ended up doing later on) but they couldn't get anywhere with any state athletic commissions. And back then one of the Fertittas was on the NSAC board iirc, and I think another NSAC big wig joined the UFC shortly after Zuffa bought it too. Mark Rattner maybe? idk I can't remember who it was.

Point is, that's pretty shady if the Fertitittas and their people had any influence on the original UFC owners not being able to get regulated. Then bought it for a mere 2 million. Then used their NSAC connections to get it regulated, which is the main thing that saved the company.

Makes me wonder if Zuffa and their people had anything to do with that Japanese newspaper somehow getting evidence of PRIDE's yakuza connections. But that's just speculation for fun on my part.

Art Davie and SEG did get the sport legalized in New Jersey and maybe another place or two, but yeah Lorenzo was on the nsac commission and allegedly voted not to legalize the sport in Vegas and then bought the company after lmao

 

[Sweater of AV]

Isnt Dana a half-billionaire hisself? I dont know how much pull a full billionaire would have on a half one -not much. Fertittas were probably thrilled Dana salvaged the UFC after the Ultimate fighter show blastoff- they recouped money, scored major profit and probably let him do whatever the F he wanted after that. Hence his "I dont give a F " attitude since

Dana's a half billionaire because of the sale. The Fertitta's bought the company and made all of the important business and financial decisions. Dana was involved in the decisions as well but he was mainly the face of the organization and dealt with most of the promotion stuff.

Speaking of TUF, it was all of their idea. No one wanted to air it though, so the Fertitta's used their own money to fund the show and Spike agreed.

 

[Pierced7681]

yea I've always heard those rumors too. Fertittas keeping it basically illegal until they bought it, then boom, all of the sudden it's legal. As far as conspiracy theories go, based on the history, this one seems pretty plausible.

it was for sure legalized in New Jersey before the fertittas bought it