Dana White
Dana White (born 1971 in Manchester, Connecticut) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Biography
Born in Manchester, Connecticut, White grew up in Las Vegas, Boston, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. He attended University of Massachusetts, Boston for two years.[1]
White has a background as an amateur boxer, but he later gave up as an active fighter and did not turn pro. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He owned three gyms in the Las Vegas area, and using his experience in boxing he trained boxers and taught boxercise classes. He also promoted boxing events and managed boxers, eventually including mixed martial arts fighters as his clients.[1]
As a manager for UFC fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White soon contacted Lorenzo Fertitta, a childhood friend, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month Lorenzo Fertitta and his older brother Frank Fertitta III bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.[2] White currently owns 10% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.[1]
White was scheduled to make his professional boxing debut against his former client Tito Ortiz on March 24, 2007. In Ortiz's re-signing with the UFC in 2005, he added a stipulation that he and White would fight in a three-round boxing exhibition, ostensibly "to work out their differences."[3] The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not believe this would be an "exhibition" match, and White, in addition to training, had to apply for a fighting licence, which was granted for this one fight. However, Ortiz did not appear at the weigh-in and the fight never occurred. Ortiz called White beforehand, leaving him a message saying he was "letting him off the hook," but White assumed Tito was trying to get him to stop training only to later say he wanted to fight, and did not interpret this to mean Ortiz was actually canceling the match. The members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, several of whom had reservations about sanctioning the match to begin with, were not pleased with Ortiz' backing out of the fight. The NSAC told White they would never again consider allowing the contest, and that furthermore, they did not want White and Ortiz to fight anywhere out of their purview.[4]
Personal life
White and his wife Anne have two sons, Dana III and Aidan.[1] During the "Dana vs. Tito" documentary, Dana admitted to losing his hearing in his right ear during a fight in his younger years.
References
- ^ a b c d McCarthy, Michael (2005-04-10). "Battles yield winning 'Fighter'". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wickert, Marc (2004). "Dana White and the future of UFC". Knucklepit.com.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Mirror - ^ Hunt, Loretta (2007-03-05). "PM Update - March 5". The Fight Network. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ortiz vs. White result". Wrestling Observer. 2007-03-24. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
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- Gentry, Clyde. No Holds Barred.
