Fighting For Growth: White Says UFC More Valuable Now Than '08

White Claims UFC Has Not Been Hit Hard By Economic Recession

UFC President Dana White said that he “believes that, despite the recession, the UFC brand is more valuable than it was a year ago,” according to Darren Rovell of CNBC. White said that business was “up 20[%] in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008.” He added that he “thinks that even in this environment the UFC, which counts Anheuser Busch and Harley-Davidson as sponsors, can land another big sponsor.” White: “Especially now we can do it. The price of an NFL sponsorship is so high and we hit the same market at a lower price” (CNBC.com, 5/18). White and Forbes magazine’s Matt Miller appeared on CNBC last night to discuss the league. Miller said of UFC’s growth, “While it's peaking, it still has a lot of room to grow, especially overseas. … This is a worldwide sport and has a lot of room to grow. Maybe not here in the (U.S.), but certainly abroad.” But White said Miller is “dead wrong” about U.S. growth. White: “I don’t think we’ve hit the mainstream yet.” CNBC’s Dennis Kneale asked Miller if White should take UFC “public and cash out and take a pile of money home with him?” Miller: “He should have cashed out a long time ago if he was going to do that.” But White noted, “Most companies that go public need money. We don't need the financing right now. Plus, we're running this business. What we're really into is building this global sport. We think that this thing has the ability to be bigger than the NFL, bigger than soccer, bigger than anybody” (“CNBC Reports,” CNBC, 5/18).

WHITE HOT: In Boston, Dan Duggan reported White during an interview last week “directed his ire” at last week’s ESPN “E:60” profile of him. White said the feature was a “piece of (expletive).” White: “Same old (expletive) story, same old (expletive).” White’s “biggest problem with the ESPN feature is his belief that it spent too much time on negative topics.” White: “I got the (Armed Forces Humanitarian Award) two (expletive) months ago. Did you see that in there? They go out and find three people -- Tito Ortiz, Pat Miletich and some (expletive) guy that doesn’t like UFC in New York -- and that’s what the (expletive) story is about? (Expletive) them. It’s the same story I’ve seen a million times” (BOSTON HERALD, 5/17).