Thoughts on Dana White

[G10]

I see this shit about every successful person out there lmao

Dana is smarter and works harder than you, that's why he's successful. Did luck play a role? Of course, but he didn't just fall into the position he's in

If he's so incompetent don't you think he would've been booted out of the UFC by now?

Yall are gonna miss Dana when he's gone and we get the UFC version of Roger Goodell

Haha, it wouldn't be Sherdog without a good ad hominem!

It doesn't take much to be smarter or work harder than me. I spend a lot of time on Sherdog forums, after all.

Also, I never said that Dana White is lazy or stupid. He's obviously built a very successful brand, and it appears you've bought into it, yourself. It takes some talent at minimum to pull that off. What I question is Dana White's actual business acumen. Can you seriously picture Dana f***ing White in boardroom, looking at pie charts and graphs, combing through risk analyses, spreadsheets, etc? Better yet, what would you really give him credit for doing besides just being the president for so many years?

Lastly, to answer your question, do you pay attention to the news? There are tons of incompetent people that maintain high positions, both in the public and the private sectors of life.

 

[Sweater of AV]

@Osiris3657 will enjoy this thread. Get in here little one and defend your hero.

 

[textwarrior]

Happy return from the weekend, Sherbros! This is my first lengthy post, so I included a TLDR version at the very end.

It occurred to me recently that there are in fact two Dana Whites: there's Dana White the brand, and Dana White the businessman.

Dana White the brand is obvious. This is the one that speaks at the RNC convention, has Twitter spats with fans, publicly insults reporters/fighters, etc. Basically, the Dana we all see and hear. I used to be a fan of Dana White the brand, but as I started following the sport more closely, I became turned off by the fake tough-guy talk. Plus, given all the controversy that's surrounded the UFC about how they treat their fighters, it makes him appear more like a sleazy promoter.

Dana White the businessman is a little harder to understand. The UFC propaganda machine leads us to believe that he's this natural genius with a keen understanding of the fight business, which enabled him to rise from obscurity to become a multi-millionaire (possibly billions now, who knows?).

However, as a businessman, what has he really done? He had a good idea that he ran by a couple of his friends (who happened to be millionaires already), and they took the reigns and stuck him at the front. From that point forward, it seems like he's just there. The Fertitas were the ones who built the UFC into what it would become. The Endeavor guys like Ari were able to get the ESPN deal done. They kinda/sorta imply that Dana was in the room while these deals were happening, but it seems like they're just being generous in order to prop up the brand.

Now, I'm not saying that he's been a complete dead weight to the UFC. He appears to be very involved with contract negotiations with some of the top-tier fighters. However, unless he does a lot more behind the scenes than he appears (which I doubt, considering how much time he spends in front of the camera), I believe he's just a well-paid puppet who hasn't had a good idea since 2003. Also, considering how many times he's either said or done things that turned out to be either blatant lies or blew up in his face, I think there's a strong argument that the UFC would be even more successful if he weren't around.

TLDR: Dana White's personal success is 99% due to this tough-guy brand he's built that is largely divorced from reality; he's not a no-nonsense business genius, but rather a lucky nobody who had a good idea, a couple of rich friends, and just enough savvy/charisma to keep himself relevant.

So, in your opinion my Sher-brethren, what do you think of Dana White the businessman? Is he this genius he's made out to be, or is he an empty suit collecting a salary?

Like in movies, Mobs, usually run the fight business [like boxing] because there is allot of dirty work that comes with it. Especially when its first developing the mob has to set things straight before it is up and running for purely greedy motivations. They usually think everyone else is too stupid to think for themselves just to get them to shut up really. But intimidation, crime, and fraud all backed up by dirty lawyers.

Dana is a shrewd used car sales man. He appears to be your average blue collar Joe but he is very tactical in reading people in a street smart way. He takes notes on a person's weakness then exploits it if necessary later on. He likes to go from professional to unprofessional or best friend to enemy. Just like a used car sales man.

,.........He works like this....You buy a used Van for 5000 dollars, you drive it off the lot, it breaks down in the street in front of the lot. You come back and want your money or another van. Sorry, read the contract. You feel cheated because you realize how he talked to you before, then after you were screwed, how he talks to you now. He seemed descent but then you realize how he chose the right words when he talked to you. They all use words that can be used in a double standard way. His words were all centered around getting you to not know what the contract was really saying. Putting trust in him then he turns arounds and acts like an A hole if you get upset for not knowing the contract says. Now your enemies and he puts it all on you. A Snake in the grass for the company.

I think most people agree, if I or they took one look at Dana White walking by and were to ask themselves what kind of person he looks like they would say....Used Car Sales Man. He has that spirit behind him.

 

[G10]

He is more of an operational manager than a generic “business man”.

There is a lot of logistics involved in running the UFC machine. Specific area of those logistics are run by executives who specialized in a specific field.

For example Hunter Campbell overseas the legal offices of the UFC, where as Tracy Long overseas athlete relationships.

Dana White’s job is to coordinate and provide directions to these executives. Everything down from production to matchmaking is overseen and approved by him

I thought about this some, and this is probably the best argument for what Dana White actually does when he's not in front of a camera. Still, how much effort do you think he puts into making these decisions? He seems more like the type of guy to tell his executives something like, "Figure it out, yourselves! I'm late for my guest appearance on 'Pawn Stars.'"

 

[TARTARA]

He is the best ever ,
he is the worst ever !
He is the only one who manages to do
both at the same time and continuously!

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

I thought about this some, and this is probably the best argument for what Dana White actually does when he's not in front of a camera. Still, how much effort do you think he puts into making these decisions? He seems more like the type of guy to tell his executives something like, "Figure it out, yourselves! I'm late for my guest appearance on 'Pawn Stars.'"

From what I gathered from how the fighters and staff members talk about him, Dana White is apparently a notorious work-a-holic who very meticulous about everything.

I remember Israel Adesanya saying he once that he wanted to promoter someday but after seeing just how much Dana works he FUCK THAT.

Apparently Dana keeps a weird sleep schedule because he stays up all night to get international deals done.

The reason why why Dana hasn’t retired because he finds vacations boring and he loves his rountine.

He has this big speech on the internet about how much he hates three day weekends and loves Monday’s so he can go back to work.

 

[Dude Incredible]

HE'S AN ERRAND BOY​

Are the grocery clerks the Fertittas, WME or Conor? Or all of the above?

 

[Street Samurai]

White is similar to don king in numerous ways. Both really clever but not conventional in their methods. Their succes is in good part due to their ability to relate to the average man (though different kind of average man)

 

[Chomsky Honk]

He’s like some mythical creature

 

[JDavis]

I still give credit where it's due, he reversed his stance on WMMA and did a great job promoting the earliest headliners like Rose, Ronda, Holly and Joanna. It's no small impact on sports to make female fighters a household name in a category his brand put on the map, globally

You look at Crossfit women's Champs and nobody knows the top 3

 

[LouisBolanos]

TLDR: Dana White's personal success is 99% due to this tough-guy brand he's built that is largely divorced from reality; he's not a no-nonsense business genius, but rather a lucky nobody who had a good idea, a couple of rich friends, and just enough savvy/charisma to keep himself relevant.

So, in your opinion my Sher-brethren, what do you think of Dana White the businessman? Is he this genius he's made out to be, or is he an empty suit collecting a salary?

Funny how it's 2021 and there're still bitter haters like you who cling on to the delusional belief that Dana's success was all luck. You belong with the same group of haters who pounded their chests and all but guaranteed that Dana would walk away after making bank in the Endeavor sale because he's only in it for the money.

The Fertittas were the brains behind the operation, they could have had any Ivy league MBA to run the UFC, and yet they chose Dana. Either the Ferittas were complete dumbasses, picked the wrong guy for the job and brute-forced their way to success despite Dana holding them back, or they picked exactly the right person to lead the UFC because they saw in Dana the talent your dumb hating ass can't.

 

[kflo]

Lorenzo Fertitta: It was me, Dana and my brother. We were like, "What do you think?" One of us said, "What about giving them both a contract?" It was a quick, spur-of-the-moment decision. The way the partnership worked is, I wouldn't make a decision on my own like that, Dana wouldn't either and neither would Frank. That's the way we were and the way we talked about things. Nobody would rush to make a decision.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Are the grocery clerks the Fertittas, WME or Conor? Or all of the above?

The Fertitas are the Grocery Clerks and they all exist because Conor's future digitally uploaded conciousness needed them to establish his generational wealth so that he could assume his rightful position as the future king of Ireland and by extension the world as Ireland becomes the future global capital of the world in 3065 and it's only in 4172 that the technology is created for Conor to travel back in time and plant the seeds that would grow into what is now known as Dana White AKA Conor jr.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Fat. Bald. Red. Pathological liar. Roid-head. Wears skinny jeans.

 

[Dude Incredible]

The Fertitas are the Grocery Clerks and they all exist because Conor's future digitally uploaded conciousness needed them to establish his generational wealth so that he could assume his rightful position as the future king of Ireland and by extension the world as Ireland becomes the future global capital of the world in 3065 and it's only in 4172 that the technology is created for Conor to travel back in time and plant the seeds that would grow into what is now known as Dana White AKA Conor jr.

I'm dying over here.

 

[Dan Torrance]

I'm dying over here.

 

[G10]

Please research the market value of the company he has been President of for the last 20 years, and you wouldn't have had to make such a silly thread. Stop trying to bait negative replies. He obviously has been successful in what he has done with the UFC.

By your logic, I could've spent all my money buying shares of Apple 20 years ago, and I'd be a multi-millionaire, today. I'd be the luckiest Sherbro on the forums, but far from a business genius! Also, how am I baiting a negative thread? My language was snarky, like literally everyone's posts here are. Not once do I say he wasn't successful. The only thing I've questioned about him is his actual business intelligence. Besides, I'm open-minded; Dreyga2000 and Luvhawky both brought up excellent points that make me reevaluate my position

Funny how it's 2021 and there're still bitter haters like you who cling on to the delusional belief that Dana's success was all luck. You belong with the same group of haters who pounded their chests and all but guaranteed that Dana would walk away after making bank in the Endeavor sale because he's only in it for the money.

The Fertittas were the brains behind the operation, they could have had any Ivy league MBA to run the UFC, and yet they chose Dana. Either the Ferittas were complete dumbasses, picked the wrong guy for the job and brute-forced their way to success despite Dana holding them back, or they picked exactly the right person to lead the UFC because they saw in Dana the talent your dumb hating ass can't.

Funny how the kids just got to summer break and they forgot their reading comprehension already!

Don't worry, little fella. You'll be reading Harry Potter before you know it.

 

[StoneColdSteveAustin]

He’s a cheapo

 

[Whippy McGee]

Hate or like Dana White, he has done us all a favor in bringing MMA from obscurity and being a fringe sport to the mainstream making other organizations possible as he has grown the fan base in significant ways.

 

[HunterAcosta]

Very bald....voice changed ..more muscles ....more money ...good gambler ....best at finding out if you wanna be a fuckin fighter or not ...