Dana White thinks boxers are going to like his offer.
UFC President Dana White has been on campaign this year, denouncing any claims that the UFC is in financial trouble. The company was recently bought for around 4 billion dollars at the height of its value, and 2017 has been lackluster.
Earlier this week, Dana spoke to ESPN about these doubts:
”I think the [2016] sale has everything to do with it. Everybody is looking at that $4 billion sale and asking, ‘Did they deliver?’ F–k yeah, we delivered. We deliver every single year. And still, every year, if you listen to the media, we’re f—ed.
”WME-IMG Endeavor bought us for $4 billion, and obviously they need to hit certain numbers for the banks,” he continued. “Right now, I’m spending another $1 million [at UFC’s Las Vegas headquarters] on another wing I want. That’s how bad of a year we’re having.”
So Dana is on a mission to expand business and has routinely mentioned bringing boxers under the UFC fold as a potential next venture. This in particular has attracted criticism. For one, boxing is entrenched in a traditional promotional system that it would be very hard to compete with.
”Whoever an athlete is, I don’t care who it is, I want to fly you to Las Vegas and we’re going to meet,” White said. “I’m going to walk you through this new facility, show you the gym, the trainers, all the amenities. Free supplements, physical therapy, we’ll cook your food exactly how you like it three times per day. You’ll get health insurance.”
That’s a big claim as Dana does not currently offer even his UFC fighters health insurance. And that leads to the second big criticism of Dana White moving into boxing. As corrupt as boxing is, most boxers tend to get treated better than UFC fighters. Boxing stars can make up to triple what UFC stars make for significantly less PPV buys, and they are allowed to court their own sponsorships. But alas Dana is ever the salesman.
”Who can offer you a better deal than me in combat sports? F— boxing, MMA, whatever it is,” he added. “Who can offer a better deal than me? The answer is nobody.”
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