As an organization, the UFC has had some crazy times. One of which happened very recently; the cancellation of UFC 151.
In a very in depth sit down interview with Ariel Helwani on FUEL TV, UFC President Dana White was asked straight up if there has ever been a point where he has felt like leaving the organization and his answer was, “no.”
“No. There never has been. We’ve had some crazy times, but I’ve never been close. That’s what’s crazy. The example I can give is, I’m such a huge fan of Rage Against the Machine. I went to the concert on my birthday, July 28, last year and 70,000 people were at their concert. And these guys could get along enough to play concerts together. It’s crazy. Guns N’ Roses. And tons of other business relationships, guys who I’ve known who for some reason can’t get along with their partners because maybe there’s too much egos involved. I know people who see me on TV think I’m some kind of egomaniac, but if I was I wouldn’t be here. Me and my partners have been through some crazy stuff. There was a time 12 years ago when this thing was failing and we’re losing millions of dollars, nobody fights, nobody points fighters. And then when things take off, and everything starts making money, it’s never about, ‘Oh, look at me, I’m the guy.’ We all have our jobs to do, we all have our piece of what makes this thing great and there’s no ego.”
What will life be like after the UFC? White hasn’t even started thinking about that yet.
“No, I’m 43. People ask me that question like I’m 73. I’m probably 73 in UFC years. Regardless of my age, there’re a lot of things that need to be done. I believe me and the Fertittas and our crew at Zuffa have built a pretty awesome road map and game plan of where this thing is going to go. Now it needs to be executed and needs to be done. We’re going into all these countries, but I don’t really want to talk about them now. This thing is nowhere near where it’s going to be. Every day I go to work and I know what has to be done, but it’s the stupid stuff that happens that I have to deal with that takes you off track and you maybe get to spend two hours dealing with the stuff you have to do. It’s all the BS and the fires that come up.”
I’m sure there will be more difficult times to come, but the Prez will not be leaving anytime soon.
