One Of The 'Most Influential People In Sports Business'
12/24/2024 01:37 PM
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO, Dana White, "is one of the best business guys" and "one of the smartest guys ever" in all of combat sports, according to Saudi Arabia's entertainment maestro, Turki Alashikh.
Sports Business Journal agrees.
White, as well as Ari Emanuel (Endeavor), Mark Shapiro (TKO Group), and Nick Khan (WWE), were ranked among the "Most Influential People In Sports Business 2024." The annual list recognizes "the influence of the institutional investment in sports."
All four honorees joined forces after this blockbuster merger back in early 2023.
White helped lead UFC revenue to another record-setting year, punctuated by a series of blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) cards, as well as a couple of breakout stars like reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and current featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria.
Expect more of the same in 2025.
"Every year over the last 17 years, I've said, 'How is next year gonna be bigger than this year?' And some of the stuff that we're already working on is ... on multiple levels, not just UFC," White said after UFC Tampa. "We got Power Slap meetings going on down there. SLS [Skate League], which I own a piece of, did an event down there today, and UFC stuff is being worked on right now in Brazil."
"We're talking about Spain and all these other places, not to mention Seattle and Chicago and these other places that we haven't been in a long time," White continued. "I anticipate a lot of big fights. I've got something in the works right now, it'll drive you f—ers crazy. All you guys will be running around. I got something in the works that you will never f—ing see coming for 2025 that literally started to come together last night."
Whether or not what came together actually stays together remains to be seen.
