“Extremely cold-blooded”: Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals Dana White's ruthless UFC business mindset

The UFC wouldn't be the massive MMA organization it is today if one man hadn't dreamed big and taken over the business, that’s UFC CEO Dana White. In 2001, White took control of the UFC, and the rest is history. The promotion has since become synonymous with MMA, and for fighters around the world, getting signed by the UFC remains the ultimate dream.

Over the past three decades, the UFC has transformed from a struggling combat sports promotion into the world's premier MMA organization. While countless fighters, commentators, executives, and other figures have contributed to its growth, UFC superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov believes White's business mindset played a major role in taking the promotion to another level.

Nurmagomedov recently shared his thoughts on White's approach to business. He describes the UFC CEO as someone willing to make difficult decisions regardless of how others receive them. According to the Dagestani legend, that mentality was essential to the UFC's success.

Khabib Nurmagomedov praises Dana White's ruthless business approach

In his recent interview with Lex Fridman, Nurmagomedov was asked about his thoughts on why White became so successful in business and how he grew the UFC. The former pound-for-pound king shared his thoughts, he believes UFC head honcho has always put the UFC's interests ahead of everything else and was willing to make major decisions if he believed they would benefit the promotion. 

The former champion compared White's approach to the mentality often portrayed in Mafia movies, where family comes first. However, according to Nurmagomedov, White's version of that mentality has always been putting the UFC first.

“In business, he's extremely cold-blooded. He’s made decisions, some major decisions, regardless of whether people like them or not. And those decisions were best for the league and the UFC. Nurmagomedov said. “He always had that mentality, like in those Mafia movies, where family comes first? Well, for him, the UFC always came first. That’s the only way he was able to push that brand forward. Of course, a lot of people contributed to that success. There were a lot of them.”

Nurmagomedov acknowledged that White wasn't solely responsible for the UFC's growth. He also credits Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan, and several other prominent figures who helped make the promotion unique.

“You have to give credit to Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan, the commentators who were there. There were a lot of things that made the UFC unique but the cherry on top was always Dana. Over the last 30+ years, they have established themselves as the premier MMA league in the world.” Nurmagomedov continued. 

He further emphasized the scale of the UFC's transformation and once again gave White the majority of the credit.

“In 30 years, They've grown to a level that some entire sports needed 100 or 150 years to reach. You have to give credit where credit is due, and the credit goes to one person, Dana White.” Nurmagomedov explained. 

Dana White takes a step back from UFC and shifts focus to Zuffa Boxing

White has done a lot to grow the UFC, but he has recently taken a step back from the promotion as he focuses on expanding his boxing venture, Zuffa Boxing, alongside Turki Alalshikh.

White's entry into boxing has already started to disrupt the sport's traditional matchmaking model. He has emphasized that his organization will focus on making the best fighters face the best, rather than protecting undefeated records or avoiding difficult matchups.

Zuffa Boxing has also started building its roster, recently signing high-profile names such as Shakur Stevenson and Conor Benn. With White now turning his attention toward boxing, his latest venture could become another major chapter in his career as he attempts to bring the same competitive philosophy that helped make the UFC a global powerhouse to the boxing world.