‘Super Bowl of MMA’…Dana White made huge declaration of ambition in his first interview as UFC President

Dana White wanted to make the UFC the ‘Super Bowl of mixed martial arts’ in his first interview as president

It has always been White’s goal to take the UFC brand and make it known worldwide, something he admitted at the very beginning of his tenure.

UFC 30 was the first event held under the ownership of Zuffa LLC, a company that included White and appointed him as president of the company shortly after buying the brand.

The 2001 event was billed as “the all-new Ultimate Fighting Championship” and featured a massive main event title fight between Tito Ortiz and Evan Turner, which ended in a 30-second knockout win for the UFC Hall of Famer.

However, before the fights kicked off, a young-looking White, still with a full head of hair, was interviewed at the ringside about his future plans for the promotion.

The UFC President vowed to make the product better for the fans and bring in the world’s best fighters, while making the promotion the “Super Bowl of Mixed Martial Arts” in an ambitious statement.

White said: “What we want to do is make this the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts.

“We want to make it more fan-friendly, we want to get the crowd involved, and we want to bring back the best fighters in the world.”

Given how much the UFC has grown in the 24 years since that statement, it seems White succeeded in his goal as President of the company.

Dana White sold the UFC for $4 billion in 2016

White’s return on investment in his 15 years as part-owner of the promotion shows that his goal of making the UFC like the Super Bowl was not just a fairytale.

After a decade-and-a-half at the helm of the promotion, turning the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Chael Sonnen, and Anderson Silva into household names for their exploits in the octagon, the UFC was sold to Endeavour for a massive fee.

The company fetched $4 billion in total to purchase what White and Company had built since taking over, earning him over $350 million personally.

White still retains a 9% stake in the company and works as its CEO, although he also has his hands in many pies outside of the UFC.

White’s investments include his own energy drink, a highly-rated whiskey, and a controversial TV show called “Power Slap“.