UFC CEO and President Dana White isn’t going anywhere in the short term.
For the past several years, talk has swirled around just when White, 56, might choose to walk away from his position as MMA’s most recognizable and successful promoters.
White infamously convinced Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, owners of Station Casinos and high school chums of his, to purchase the UFC in 2001. White became the promotion’s president, and also had an ownership stake.
In 2016, the UFC sold to WME-IMG (now Endeavour), for just north of four billion dollars. White cashed in, but did not cash, staying on board and eventually earning a CEO title as the company was later paired up alongside pro wrestling’s WWE under the TKO Group banner, a subsidiary of Endeavour.
On Sunday, following UFC 323, the final UFC Pay-Per-View event of the ESPN era, White confirmed that he had signed a contract extension at some point in 2025.
“I have been extended,” White stated during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Five years. Another five-year extension. Literally this year.”
There’s no doubt a good reason for White to stick around. For one, there’s a big card planned for the White House in June, a historic event that will see the promotion run a card right in the U.S. President’s backyard, quite literally. For another, the PPV model is done at least in the U.S., as the promotion switches to streaming service Paramount+.
“It’s impossible for the sport not to get even bigger. It was 1200 or 1300 bucks a year to be a fan this year. It’s going to be 120 dollars next year, something like that, for the entire year,” stated White. “And we have huge fights coming up. The White House fight alone will be madness.”
White also touched on how the promotion will handle the loss of PPV bonuses. Historically, headliners of UFC PPV events have received “PPV points,” essentially a bonus based on the number of sales the broadcast of the event does. Those can result in significant salary increases, sometimes in the millions of dollars.
According to White, the UFC has figured out how to handle the loss of the PPV model, with Paramount+ paying $1.1 billion per year for the UFC’s broadcast rights and offering all events under their usual subscription plan.
“Yes, there is a model that we have figured out that can figure out how to pay guys based on Pay-Per-View still,” White said.
