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[The following article was published originally on MMATorch.com two years ago this week.]
By Wade Keller, MMATorch Supervising Editor
Dana White is unfazed by the EliteXC deal with CBS, reports The Boston Herald. The following are key excerpts of this weekend's article and interview with White:
-White: “The next company that was going to take me out has been coming for the last eight years. Every time somebody puts something new together, it’s been ’Oh, these guys are gonna kick Dana’s (expletive) and put his ego in check.’ There ain’t anybody kicking our (expletive). It isn’t going to happen this year with CBS and Elite XC or any year."
-White: "It’s a lot trickier than people realize. The reality is that Elite XC didn’t sign a deal with CBS, that’s not what happened. CBS bought Elite XC -- big difference. I don’t think it’s a great deal at all. I’ve talked to every network, including CBS. The thing is with me -- I say it all the time -- I’m not going to cut a stupid deal.”
-White on EliteXC promoter Gary Show saying White's ego got in the way of UFC landing the CBS deal: "The reality is I know what the (expletive) I’m doing and Gary Shaw doesn’t. If you go and search Gary Shaw and mixed martial arts (on the Internet), this guy was saying five years ago that mixed martial arts was a joke. (He said) it’s not a real sport, these guys are barroom brawlers. Now that fat, bloated (expletive) is running around acting like he loves mixed martial arts.”
-White on Mark Cuban: "I don’t dislike Mark Cuban at all. He’s a smart guy and he’s made lots of money. ... And he’s invested millions and millions of dollars into (HDNet). He thinks that MMA is a hot commodity right now so he’s trying to get viewers. What he wants to do is build HDNet up and then sell it to Comcast or Time Warner or one of the other cable systems. He doesn’t give a (expletive) about mixed martial arts.”
-White on HBO negotiatons breaking down over product control issues: "The bottom line is we built this brand without the help of anyone. We built this thing from the ground up, and no one’s going to control our business. It has nothing to do with ego at all; it has to do with the business we’ve built and our vision for it. We’re going to do it our way.”
-White: "Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, this is what we do. It’s all we do. It’s all we (expletive) care about. You can’t say that about these other organizations. These guys aren’t promoters. They see an opportunity and they’re trying to get their little slice of the big piece of cheese.”
-White: "The UFC has taken this thing to another level every year. We just landed the biggest sponsor in sports, Anheuser-Busch. When you talk about sports marketing companies, they’re the biggest in the world.”
KELLER ANALYSIS: Having watched TBS's WCW struggle to compete with Vince McMahon's WWF for years, despite big network exposure and a lot of money invested, it's one reason to draw from history and believe Dana White is right. UFC is a brand name that has such a head start over anyone else that anyone else, even with broadcast network exposure (which means less than ever, but still something), would have to spend a lot more money than even Mark Cuban is likely to do over the course of five years at least and do everything right to be a threat to UFC. UFC is also run by people who know the sport inside and out, have been through hard times and fought through them, and are dedicated to it and solely it which gives them an advantage to fight through any well-funded competitor upstart. That said, UFC can thrive at the same time a second major organization thrives. And that would be good for the sport and for the fighters, who could negotiate between two companies to get a bigger cut of revenue.
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