The “Teflon Don” has nothing on “Teflon Dana.”
Two and a half weeks after Dana White was caught on film slapping his wife at a nightclub, TBS went ahead with the debut airing of White’s Power Slap league. White somehow overcame the terrible optics and even worse search engine entanglements that came with the two slap events. There’s little doubt left as to whether he’ll escape getting seriously hurt by the domestic abuse incident which would have finished almost any other other public figure out there.
Many have wondered how the heck White does it, and many media outlets are more focused on the lack of repercussions than the incident itself. ESPN is out there in a hotdog costume asking who might possibly be responsible for punishing the UFC president. The answer in practical terms is ‘No one.’ Now Front Office Sports is writing a post-scandal wrap-up on the situation entitled ‘How Dana White Became Immune to Controversy.’
The most interesting part of Front Office Sports’ coverage is a series of quotes from anonymous former UFC employees that give your average non-UFC fan some insight into the strange insulated world White has created. It’s one where he is loved, lionized, and feared in equal amounts.
“Those inside [the sport] knew nothing was going to happen,” an ex-UFC employee said in the article. “Dana is that powerful. In any other sport, a league president putting his hands on his wife would lead to immediate action. It’s sad and disgusting at the same time.”
As for why White gets the special treatment from UFC parent company Endeavor head Ari Emanuel?
“He’s convinced Ari that he has the secret sauce,” a different ex-employee said. “Endeavor thinks that there’s nobody but Dana who can run UFC.”
Over the years, the UFC brand has been built into a massive juggernaut. Alongside it, White has worked hard to build his own brand. To most fans he’s a no-bullshit truth teller that does what has to be done to get prima donna fighters into the cage. To business execs, he’s the one who will shelve Jon Jones for three years rather than pay him Deontay Wilder money, preserving the fat profits that Endeavor stockholders have enjoyed since they bought the company in 2016.
Honestly, it’s that cut-throat approach to maintaining the pay scale above all else that probably keeps him secure in his position atop the UFC. Sure, he’s been known to splash fighters with cash here and there as well. But everyone knows how dangerous it can be to ask for more money from White. And that extends past the fighters to UFC employees.
“Dana will tip a doorman of a hotel $1,000, but if anyone comes to his office and asks for a raise, that pisses him off,” an ex-employee told Front Office Sports. “It’s so bizarre. To Dana, money is love. It’s not seen as an instrument to buy goods or services. If you are asking for money, it means you don’t love him. It’s very primitive.”
These unnamed former employees weren’t completely negative when talking about their former boss. To a person, they all told Front Office Sports they’d never witnessed White act physically violent with anyone else the way he did in the footage with his wife. That could be another mitigating factor in how he managed to coast out the other side of this scandal in the end … not like it would have saved anyone else in a similar situation.
“ Former employees”.
Nuff said
Who goes to the CEO of a 4 billion+ company and asks for a raise?
Seems like an odd statement. I’d prob kick them out the door too in his position. He’s got other shit to worry about. He might be involved in some high level budgeting decisions along with others but he shouldn’t be the one deciding if the marketing analyst gets a 5% raise lol.
A child could do dana’s job, and probably better than dana. Dana was just smart enough to get his face on every ufc product since tuf and has idiots convinced he’s special
He knew The Fertittas who funded Zuffa Inc.
Endeavor obviously no longer has any interest in promoting a legitimate sport at this point. They’re looking to leech all the money they can out of the remaining goodwill fans have left for the sport and dump it when it finally sucks so badly that even the fanboys give up on the product. It’s time for someone else to really step up. Fuck the ufc. Good on Francis.
Look at the other leagues presidents and CEOs outside of Chatri they’re all failing horribly and hemorrhaging money and doing shitty numbers. Sure Coker did okay with strikeforce but failing fantastically with bellator.
Dana is fucked,
Mick Maynard is the new boss.
UFC isn’t the exception because of Dana but because it’s the name brand of MMA. It’s the name brand because it was the first to get broadcasting deal (credit goes to Lorenzo). Dana’s role was being smart enough to see the potential and convince the Fertittas to get involved. His actual role and position as the figurehead could have been filled by anyone under the same circumstances.
He’s definitely not some god tier promoter who was crucial. More like right place right time. Let’s not even get started on his outside of MMA flops.
Paulo Costa suggesting something here…
Fuck Dana, not you too…
Dana wouldn’t ever fuck a retarded, oh never mind.
I for one won’t have faith in the credibility of this anonymous former UFC employee’s statements until Dana White’s mother can assess them.
“anonymous former UFC employees”
There’s more than one.
“ he’s the one who will shelve Jon Jones for three years rather than pay him Deontay Wilder money, preserving the fat profits”
Who wrote this garbage?
Not Phooey
Seems like quite a stretch to call those 2 weak slaps (by both of them) domestic abuse.
I don’t agree but that’s okay we don’t have to agree. UFC as a product is top notch… now is that Dana White or is it some of his staff? I don’t know. For example I talked about strikeforce… that was an excellent product it looked good on TV, excellent fights, big stars, lots of hype, good TV deals… yet when you took Coker and put him in bellator its a giant pile of shit. So would the same be said for Dana White?
I think the real question is if we took Dana White and gave him bellator for 5+ years would bellator still be a steaming pile of shit or would it be watchable?
Personally I think he could make it watchable.