Puka Nacua, Dalton Kincaid, and More: Dana White’s Youth Football Team Was Stacked With NFL Talent

Dana White is best known as the relentless CEO of the UFC, having partnered with former UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to transform mixed martial arts into a global sports phenomenon. Long before they were organizing world championship fights and filling arenas, the pair put their money toward Las Vegas youth sports. As it turns out, their eye for elite athletic talent extended far beyond combat sports.

White recently opened up about a peewee football team he and Fertitta personally funded during their early years running the promotion. Called the "Little Cowboys," the squad was originally set up just to give local kids a solid program to compete in. However, that youth team ended up producing a staggering lineup of future Sunday stars.

A Las Vegas Youth Roster Stacked With Future NFL Stars

Speaking about the surprising pipeline of talent that developed under their watch, White broke down just how stacked the "Little Cowboys" roster really was.

“Me and Lorenzo funded a team called the Little Cowboys,” White revealed. “On that team was Puka Nacua, Jaden Hicks, Dalton Kincaid, and Kyu Blu, who plays for the Raiders. But all these kids came off our f***ing pee wee team.”

The list of alumni from that youth squad is absurd. Nacua burst onto the scene with the Los Angeles Rams to set all-time NFL rookie records for receptions and receiving yards, having spent years around White’s family in Nevada while calling the fight promoter "Uncle Dana" and even appearing at multiple UFC events. Kincaid turned into a primary target for the Buffalo Bills after going in the first round of the draft, while Hicks secured a role with the Kansas City Chiefs and Kyu Blu Kelly landed as a cornerback with the Las Vegas Raiders.

While White has consistently shot down rumors about ever wanting to buy an NFL franchise, his early investment in youth football shows that he and Fertitta were quietly funding gridiron superstars all along.