Yahoo Sports Will Dana White Still Run the UFC in 5 Years?
When the UFC was sold for $4 billion, everyone wondered what would happen with UFC president Dana White.
He said in the lead-up to the sale, that if it were ever to happen, he likely wouldn't remain with the company that he helped drive to the top of the mixed martial arts world.
“The day we decide to sell, I probably don’t want to do this anymore,” White said on The Dan Patrick Show earlier this year.
The sale has now come and gone. Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, along with White, sold their stakes in the company to longtime business partners WME | IMG. White, however, remains.
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Following the sale, he inked a five-year deal with the new ownership to remain with the company. White confirmed the deal on the Jimmy Kimmel show, but did not disclose financial details, which are rumored to include him receiving nine-percent of the annual profits of the company.
White will continue his day-to-day role as the UFC president. From the sound of things, he's not going anywhere even after that contract is completed.
“Yes. I’m not going anywhere. The new guys that I’m working with, I’ve actually had a working relationship with these guys for 12 years anyway,” White said on The Fight Life podcast last week when asked if he would be part of the UFC in another five years.
“I have a very good working relationship with them. I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
Of course, much can change in five years, but White will only be 52 years old then. It wouldn't be surprising if he is in it for the long haul, beyond the duration of his current contract.
