UFC President Dana White remains a "constant amid all the change" at the promotion, which has recently gone through a "tumultuous stretch" highlighted by WME-IMG's $4.5B purchase of the company in July, according to Jon Wertheim of SI. White said his relationship with WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel is a "thousand times better" than he thought it would be. White: "This is no bulls---, you know how I am -- Ari and I have been together for 12 years. He was my agent." He said what he and former UFC co-Owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta were "able to accomplish is incredible." White: "Then if you look at what Ari brings to the table. I'll be on the phone with Ari. We'll be talking about (something). He'll go, 'Get (ESPN President) John Skipper on the phone.' John Skipper pops up on the phone. We didn't have that power." White added '17 is "going to be an interesting year" for the UFC. He said the UFC is "working on" hosting events in Russia and China. He also spoke to the UFC's media-rights deal with Fox Sports, which ends in '18. THE DAILY reported UFC is seeking $450M a year for its next deal. White said of the differences between a potential UFC union and those associated with other sports leagues, "It's not the NBA. It's not Major League Baseball, not the NFL. It's a whole 'nother world. ... These guys are going to try to get rid of the union once they had the union." White, on if the UFC is fighting a battle between brand extension and not wanting to dilute its product, said, "People disagreed with me early on, but I don't think they are disagreeing today. As long as you're putting on good fights, people want to watch them. The reality is, as the talent continues to grow, more and more people start to come out of the woodwork" (SI.com, 2/8).
