How quickly would the UFC fall apart if Dana suddenly retired?

[Joshuaace]

It will crumble like Apple after Steve Jobs

 

[jx820]

you could train a chimpanzee of average intelligence to do Dana’s entire job in like 3 days. less with a very smart chimp. saying “thanks for coming out, (insert city name here), we’re gonna move this stuff out of here and face these guys off” is like 60% of his entire duties. the man is useless

And that's why Pride, Affliction, IFL, Strikeforce, Elite, Bellator, Rizin, Dream, and the PFL are all so much bigger than the UFC. Because fight promotion is easy and anyone can do it.

 

[eiyuu]

The UFC would probably carry on, and whomever would take up the reigns of running it would be just as hated as Dana White because they'd still be the top MMA org.

 

[Pittie Petey]

you could train a chimpanzee of average intelligence to do Dana’s entire job in like 3 days. less with a very smart chimp.

Dammit, this popped me good

<Lmaoo><Lmaoo><Lmaoo><Lmaoo>

 

[m249viking]

The company would be fine and probably have better long term prospects without a guy running it who thinks he's more important than the fighters.

Fighters are a dime-a-dozen except for a few gems like McGregor, Brock and Jones.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

Dana created the template & has developed a team around him for support. That team won't fail if Dana leaves, however they may need a couple of people to replace him. (a talking head & a problem solver)

They need a fully invested go getter who can invest his life in the business. I'm sure Endeavor will manage to find someone else to carry on his legacy. Their reach & pockets go pretty fooking deep.

Much love to Dana for what he does, but the right person could take the helm.

A top fighter could be a valid replacement. It reminds me of how Ken Jennings took Alex Trebek's place as the host of Jeopardy. He got a different vibe than Trebek, but Jennings is the greatest champion of all time and that gives him INCREDIBLE validity. During the transition I didn't know how to take him, but you can't deny his love for it & he's pretty good at it. He clearly has a love for trivia which makes him shine. The show continues successfully without the Dana White of teh Jeopardy world. I understand being a talking head is different than running a business, but I just use that as an example of someone nobody thought could keep up the ratings.

Off the top of my head, but I'm not invested... DC is already analyzing fighters to death on the UFC video games, (surprising the detail he provides) and I don't know if you've ever thought about how much analysis it takes to be a commentator, but you can't just show up & not be studied. He seems like someone that could rock up & take the buisiness side of it while being a valid force in the war room to make fights.

How fun would it be for McGregor to take it? lol...

 

[Last Falconry]

And that's why Pride, Affliction, IFL, Strikeforce, Elite, Bellator, Rizin, Dream, and the PFL are all so much bigger than the UFC. Because fight promotion is easy and anyone can do it.

explain to me, in detail, what Dana White brings to the table that makes him the winning variable that separates the UFC from the fates of those companies you listed. I want to know what you think Dana's secret is. aside from "has rich friends who gave him a job and fixed his teeth"

 

[mahavishnunj]

If he retires, what does he even do?

He works on making snow cream from his driveway.

 

[mudrubble]

I can see a post Dana era being more of an entertainment product. I do think the impulse to steer into star power is bigger with Ari and Vince, but it's not like Dana wasn't aleady of that mindset himself going back to the Zuffa era. The whole sale was built off the back of star driven PPVs.

So I guess I'd have to know exactly what change(s) you think Hunter would make on Ari's behalf in order to weigh in.

I don't know the exact details but from what I read the changes were pushing further into entertainment and further away from sport than even Dana is comfortable with.

To me, that speaks volumes. When Dana is the voice of reason vs all-out-entertainment, I believe the "sport" will be only more fucked when he retires.

I read some article that mentioned this power struggle and otherwise only saw a video or two touching on the subject. One was a 45 min video on Bones and Francis with tons of receipts, and it spent maybe 4 minutes on the Ari-Hunter-Dana love triangle so I have zero details. But it alleged that the trend is clear - Ari is a very hands on guy. He likes to micromanage. But he knows and cares nothing about MMA. So his ideas rub Dana as.... not the direction to go.

So he undermines, via Hunter. And that has put a strain on Dana and Hunter's relationship, which I believe is cordial. I don't know details further than Ari is a "show me the money" kind of guy who worships the bottom line and doesn't care about the quality of the product that produces it.

But when Dana is the voice of reason in a group, I worry about that group's influence. I'm sure we'll all get to see the bloody details in time. I don't see reason to believe that Dana's successors will repair anything Dana is said to have damaged. I believe they will only pull further at threads and produce more tears in the fabric.

But what do I know? Mum always said "not much". She regrets that now, lol. Too little too late, "Mum", if that's even your real name.

 

[Fight Professor]

Dana’s strength is to make the public interested in the product. Rogan plays a big role here as well because he can cater to a specific demographic and has a huge audience.

There are pretty much no upcoming fighters today who know how to promote themselves so the viewership would decline greatly. Even fighters Paddy and Garry need proper PR to gain interest. You know that it is working when Sherdog starts hating.

 

[Goutfather]

i don’t think dana retires. this promotion is his purpose. it’s his legacy. he wouldn’t know what to do with his life if he didn’t run ufc. he’ll do this until his widowmaker forces him to stop.

but if he retired, i reckon ufc goes on about 10 more years before its sold to a company that truly doesn’t understand or care about mma. they’ll install some monkey with a degree to reshuffle the chairs every year as ufc sinks into insolvency.

 

[chinarice]

It would be just fine.

 

[liner]

I really hope Dana is in this til he dies. How many other orgs have come and gone. If coker had been in charge, would cage fighting ever been on regular tv. probably nope.

Everyone who likes watching men cage fight on TV should be thanking dana

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

One would simply replace him with another bald goof...

I love Steve Harvey. Fuck the haters. If he were the face of the UFC I'd buy more PPVs.

 

[Anonymous Mayhem]

Hate to tell you but it's falling apart now. They only care about making money that's why rankings mean nothing. Then there's the pound for pound list Jone's only beat Cyril who can't wrestle and had no chance. Maybe if he beat Francis, you could say he was pound for pound but giving him Stipe who is old does not make him the greatest fighter of all time not to mention as a person he is horrible. I'm not an Islam fan but he wins best pound for pound hands down most complete fighter.

 

[Anonymous Mayhem]

Hate to tell you but it's falling apart now. They only care about making money that's why rankings mean nothing. Then there's the pound for pound list Jone's only beat Cyril who can't wrestle and had no chance. Maybe if he beat Francis, you could say he was pound for pound but giving him Stipe who is old does not make him the greatest fighter of all time not to mention as a person he is horrible. I'm not an Islam fan but he wins best pound for pound hands down most complete fighter.

 

[Anonymous Mayhem]

Hate to tell you but it's falling apart now. They only care about making money that's why rankings mean nothing. Then there's the pound for pound list Jone's only beat Cyril who can't wrestle and had no chance. Maybe if he beat Francis, you could say he was pound for pound but giving him Stipe who is old does not make him the greatest fighter of all time not to mention as a person he is horrible. I'm not an Islam fan but he wins best pound for pound hands down most complete fighter.

 

[Pierced7681]

I don't think Dana does anything behind the scenes that isn't replaceable. His main value is PR.

correct. Outside of participating in matchmaking meetings and giving his opinion on what fights to make, Dana is mostly there to handle the media and run interference for Hunter Campbell, the chief business officer

 

[-Sideways-]

Dana has laid out the blueprint of how to run the business. It won't die without him.

 

[RoñaCastroJr]

Look, like most of you I'm not a Dana White fan. He does lie a lot and mistreats many fighters with his ruthless tactics.

But G-d damn does this man know how to run his business!

Every week it seems there's a handful of injuries that threaten to destroy a card, but here comes Dana to plug the holes and keep the ship afloat.

This man has been doing this shit for 22 years and seems like he's doing it better than ever.

Every year I hear people say "UFC dead". But nope, end of year roles around and UFC reveals that it just had a record year for profits.

You can hate Dana but you also have to admit he's a fuckin beast when it comes to running the UFC business.

I don't think people understand just how unique of a job Dana has and how hard it is to pull this off. Yeah it's a "business" and he's the CEO and president, but his employees are batshit crazy individuals who chose to get punched in the head for a living. Go manage a McDonald's for a few weeks and allow yourself to stew in the chaos, now try to imagine that instead of a 15 year old girl with pimples who pops Xanax you have to try to manage the likes of Tony Ferguson, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and every other sociopath that has ever fought under the UFC banner. That's why I doubt Hunter can truly replace Dana. Hunter went to business school which is useless in a business like this. Dana got a perfect education for this business on the streets of Boston.

Remember, none of this was ever supposed to work. When Dana and co. took over the helm in 2001 the UFC was banned in almost every state, the US gov wanted to ban it, and even PPV was considering cutting ties. Dana took an absolute shit hole situation and turned it into a multi billion dollar business, with only a high school diploma to his name. I hate the guy but I absolutely respect the fuck out of him. He was set up to fail basically from birth, but he just keeps winning and there's no sign it will end any time soon.

' with only a highschool.diploma... ' PLUS VERY VERY RICH FRIENDS