• Xenforo Cloud is upgrading us to version 2.3.8 on Monday February 16th, 2026 at 12:00 AM PST. Expect a temporary downtime during this process. More info here

Hot Take What if the Problem isn’t Dana?

LeBron

LeBron

Brown Belt
@Brown
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Messages
3,044
Reaction score
4,832
What are the chances that Dana is still as passionate about MMA as when he first got into it and truly wants the best to fight the best, but TKO are the ones ruining the sport? Before it was his friends that owned the UFC but now it’s a publicly traded company that only cares about its shareholders. Maybe he feels emasculated and like his hands are tied? Maybe he has choice but to be their bitch?

… or is he just a rat piece of s**t?
 
Dana's never been the problem. In fact he's likely the only reason the UFC hasn't gone bankrupt like all the other orgs.

I don't agree with everything he does. For instance, the ESPN deal, but he's undeniably been the driving force behind making and keeping the UFC great.

You want to see what a shitty leader can do to a sport? Go watch the NBA before and after Adam silver.
 
LeBron said:
What are the chances that Dana is still as passionate about MMA as when he first got into it and truly wants the best to fight the best, but TKO are the ones ruining the sport? Before it was his friends that owned the UFC but now it’s a publicly traded company that only cares about its shareholders. Maybe he feels emasculated and like his hands are tied? Maybe he has choice but to be their bitch?

… or is he just a rat piece of shit?
Click to expand...
Dana isn't the matchmaker.
 
Dana is a good person, but dagestani terrorists took his family as hostages long time ago and forced him to do all the bad things including wife beating, trashtalking, etc.
 
That’s how publicly traded companies go.

They always prioritize decisions based on shareholder value, interests and profits.

It’s why some companies always stay private or go back to being private - because it turns out to be a huge problem with their core ethos.

I think it’s a complex issue that has a little to do with multiple factors. Dana’s been doing this forever and everyone hits a peak at some point in their life/career. Now with PowerSlap, Zuffa Boxing etc… it’s a safe bet to assume he released his foot off the pedal - so to speak. Unless you’re Elon Musk or Jensen Huang, most people lose focus when juggling multiple things.

I don’t think the UFC ever goes back to what it once was and its future lies as some sort of hybrid combat sport and theatric entertainment - similar to the WWE which TKO also handles. Given their history, it’s safe to assume they would apply some kind of synergistic approach for both companies.

I still salute Dana - as much as I can’t stand where the UFC is right now. This motherfucker went from a boxing instructor to a real life Kinpin.

You gotta respect it 🫡
 
Dana currently sucks because it’s not actually clear he’s even running the UFC the way he used to. He feels more like a corporate mascot at this point, but he absolutely sucks in that role too, since he seems totally disinterested in anything that isn’t slap fighting, boxing, or young male streamers.
 
Dana does whatever he wants and is the final say on anything UFC related. End of story.

jeskola said:
Dana isn't the matchmaker.
Click to expand...

No, but you think they are signing main events without telling Dana about it? They all work for him, it's his baby. His hand is in everything. These tasks are all delegated to teams of people and everyone answers to him.

Dana wants to please TKO but he's not hamstrung by them. TKO isn't controlling his matchmaking but he's certainly playing up to what they'd want. It's smart business even if we hate it.

Personally, I wish he'd just go away. The sport could do so much better without him. Contracts are not fair at all, demands are crazy, and the money doesn't math up for the fighters often enough.
 
My understanding has always been Dana had a lot less control over the "real" decisions that have immediate impact on the bottom line or future revenue. Even when the Ferts where around they hired out people to do media deals. I do think Dana has a lot of control over the day to day operating of the UFC and the culture within the UFC. But Dana isn't heading up the meeting on Healthcare or Italy's new media deal, I highly doubt he was the one that said lets go get Reebok.

I highly doubt he has the same drive today as he did in 2006 or whatever. Do anything for 20+ years and you probably won't have the same passion as you did. But at the same time he doesn't need to. There is plenty more competent people to help today than there was in 2005.

I guess I don't really get what people are complaining about with the UFC. The UFC has continued to grow in revenue around the world and is more valuable today than its ever been. Business has never been better. There will always be questioning of match ups, how a fighter is treated, quality of cards, etc etc. Even the NFL has fans who blast all kinds of decisions. The UFC just like any other massive business isn't worried about a small percentage of whinners. Most on here are very passionate fans that will watch regardless of what they think of the UFC or Dana. This forum is always just a hot take of the current topics and we are a small percentage of the fans.
 
ricc505 said:
What if we are the problem? Social social media fed hateful trolling? Fans bought in to MacGregor, fans bought into wmma fighters looks. Our buys and clicks drive marketing. UFC is aware of our narratives
Click to expand...

Don't speak for the pirates!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,281,618
Messages
58,381,158
Members
176,017
Latest member
KTFOPerformance

Share this page

Back
Top