Dana White talks UFC's success and blending MMA and entertainment

Dana WhiteUFC's charismatic and outspoken president, White, has played a key role in transforming mixed martial arts into a mainstream sport. In his more than two decades as president, White has grown UFC from a niche promotion into a global powerhouse. Recently, White spoke with Collider about the evolution of mixed martial arts. Fight Inc.: Behind the Scenes at UFCa Roku documentary series that offers a behind-the-scenes look into the inner workings of UFC, and while the series has already garnered plenty of attention and Emmy buzz, White spoke to me on a busy day for UFC.

Despite some issues cropping up around the time our interview was scheduled, including losing two of UFC's next big pay-per-view main events within a matter of hours, White was fun, affable and extremely chatty as he talked about why he loves what he does, why UFC has such appeal to audiences old and new, what he thinks is the best representation of martial arts on film and the joys of watching his fighters go from zero to superstar.

From niche to mainstream: Dana White on the evolution of UFC

COLLIDER: This series was a lot of fun to watch. It was a real eye-opener. I'm a pretty casual UFC fan, so I thought this show was a great way to expose UFC to a more general audience. This series gives you a much better look behind the scenes at what it's like being a day-to-day businessman and the face of the company. Is there anything this series can open people's eyes to that is tougher about your job that they may not know about or see?

Dana White: The biggest thing is, that's just a small, really small part of what goes on here. We have event operations and consumer products. The production department is where we have the most employees here. We have a huge production facility here, we have legal, finance, performance labs, international marketing, brand creative, social, technology. We have our own digital team, our own network and flightpath, UFC.com, 562 employees around the world. We have offices all over the world – Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Russia, the UAE, China, Singapore. So that's just a small part of what actually goes on here.

The series, in its first episode, did a great job of illustrating how UFC has skyrocketed in popularity, especially over the last decade. Do you think there was a defining moment that triggered it, or was it more of a gradual rise that ultimately led to it going mainstream?

White: Of course, it's well known. Ultimate Fighter That's when boxing started it all and people started to get interested in boxing. From there, the era of stars began: Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, the list goes on and on. Now, if you look around, in China, you have the famous Zhang Weili, Alexa Grasso who is making people crazy in Mexico, Sean O'Malley who has become a big star, Ilia Topuria in Spain, etc. There are different eras, different fighters. In the Islamic world, Islam Makhachev, the list goes on and on.

When you mentioned Sean O'Malley, I thought the way he was introduced was one of the most fascinating parts of the series. On a human level, do you think finding someone almost out of nowhere and building them into a superstar is just as satisfying as organizing a massive, record-breaking pay-per-view?

White: This is my favorite part of my job. It's really what I love most about this business. I told you we have a lot of different departments here. We have 562 employees worldwide, 412 of them in Las Vegas. And then there are the other businesses that I run. What I'm here to focus on every day is identifying up-and-coming talent, where we put the best matches possible, our in-house live production and our TV production. In this business, as long as you're focused on those important things, because that's the core of the business, it's hard to go wrong.

UFC: Where do we start?

For new fans who might see this and get a new interest in UFC, are there any fights in particular that you'd recommend they watch? What do you think is the best card or pay-per-view that UFC has ever put on?

White: [UFC 300] It was really great. 300 was great. Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje was one of the most amazing fights I've ever seen. But there were so many others. What makes this sport great is what I focus on every day. There are three types of fight fans. The ones who say, “I'm going to the event. I want to be there.” The ones who have a party at home, and they have beer and pizza and stuff and they invite their friends and family. And the ones who go to the bar. The ones who watch at the bar. They're all three very different experiences, but with the way we do our business, the way we do our matchmaking, what we do, there's no one who finishes Saturday night and says, “Oh, I never want to see that fight again.” That doesn't happen at UFC. It's because we basically focus on the core of our business, the important things, that's what makes this sport so exciting and fun. So it's very hard to pick just one fight to watch because there are so many great fights.

You talk about putting on so many great games for the fans, which makes me wonder if that makes your job easier not just as a businessman, but as a fan of sports as well – is it less appealing and satisfying if you don't fundamentally love the sport?

White: 100%. You have to love it. I get here every day between 8:30 and 9 in the morning, and I don't leave until 7, 8, 9 at night. Every day. So, yeah, this business is a monster. A beast. Right now, I'm sitting here doing this interview with you, and there's a lot going on here right now. So, believe me when I say this business is all about problem-solving and dealing with headaches every minute of the day. You have to love it to do this.

Well, it's interesting. I wasn't going to tell you what was going on today, but it can be a nightmare when things go wrong, but is it equally exciting for you to think, “Okay, I've got a solution. This is interesting. Now I can do something different.”

White: Absolutely. When you have a perfect event like 300, and everything comes together and you get the results you expect, it's the greatest joy. And then creating these cards and then dealing with all the issues every day and the struggles and the stuff, it's the worst joy in the industry, of course, but that's the part I love the most. I love working through it. I love finding solutions to problems. I love solving puzzles. That's what I love. Apparently I'm a sick, crazy, twisted person, but I love this.

Hollywood vs. Martial Arts

We at Collider are more in the entertainment business, but from your experience, what do you think is the best martial arts movie, and in particular, the movie that best represents mixed martial arts? What's your favorite movie?

White: Well, I have a hard time. I'm a very introverted person, and I've done so much in the martial arts business that sometimes when I watch movies, I can't even watch them because they're so ridiculous. But as I grew up, I was obviously a big Rocky Fan. For a man who was an actor, [Sylvester] Stallone really had his finger on the pulse of everything that goes on in the business of combat sports, from promotions to the fighters themselves, to trainers and managers.

He did a lot of that well, and what I love about Stallone's movies is that they're always so moving and uplifting. Rocky I literally want to jump out of my chair and work out after watching this movie. I love movies that make you want to improve yourself. Kingdom, [the TV series]was great. It was very well done. It was about mixed martial arts. If I had to pick one thing about mixed martial arts, it would be this. Kingdom.

“Smashing Machine” is The Rock's Oscar-worthy performance

Currently, our site offers: Smashing MachineMark Carr has a film starring Dwayne Johnson, and we hope it accurately represents the essence of what it's like to be an MMA fighter. Do you think projects like this make people want to learn more about the sport? Dwayne has clearly drawn a lot of people to his projects who wouldn't have known about MMA otherwise.

White: I don't know if you saw it, but he mentioned on Instagram the other day that he hurt his elbow. I think The Rock would be perfect for this role. I know how committed he is, who's working with him, how hard he's worked on this movie. I think this is an opportunity for The Rock to actually get nominated for an Oscar.

We're really excited just to see something different from him, his appearance in the film is mind-blowing.

White: 100 percent. He's taking this very seriously. This has been a passion project for him for a long time and he has the 100 percent backing of UFC. Obviously, he's a friend of mine. This is his chance to win an Oscar.

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Out of the ring and onto the silver screen.

I just saw UFC featured. Roadhouse Connor and [McGregor] It's good to have good, entertaining performances in it, but — Conor and Ronda Rousey were big names — do you think seeing your fighters in mainstream projects and movies is a good way to show your fighters, “You've done well here. The world is yours. Fight well for us and you can be anyone you want”?

White: It's always been that way. A lot of fighters are in movies. Max Holloway, Mike Bisping, Cowboy Cerrone, and many others. There are all kinds of opportunities here. Once you get into the UFC and win the belt, that world championship is the key that opens a lot of doors. It opens a lot of doors: sponsorships, business opportunities, movies, TV. The list goes on and on. But I love seeing them excel in other areas or do something they love outside of the sport.

Fight Inc.: Behind the Scenes at UFC The entire series is currently streaming on The Roku Channel.

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