Well, when we talk about professional MMA, Dana White would be among the top names that come to everyone’s mind. Right from the get-go, he, as a promoter, adopted the Unified Rules of MMA. And as White steps into the boxing world, he envisions doing something similar, such as reforming the Ali Act.

White’s journey in the world of MMA has been quite interesting. He was a manager of Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell in the late 1990s. But after the Fertitta brothers acquired UFC, White was installed as the president. And since then, he never looked back as he completely went on to change and popularize MMA through UFC on a global level. That’s something which is acknowledged by many, including renowned boxing commentator Max Kellerman.

Kellerman talks about Dana White’s impact on MMA

“He changed the rules to make it better. So early on, who wins? The karate guy or the kung fu guy? The jiu-jitsu guy or the wrestler? The answer was Brazilian jiu-jitsu beats everything and then from their American wrestlers realized if we stay out of submission holds and we hit them back and ground and pound formed in all this. But that was high concept in the beginning,” said Max Kellerman during a recent discussion on the Rushmore Podcast on X.

After highlighting the prevailing issues with MMA in the early days, Kellerman pointed out how Dana White tackled it. He said, “What Dana did is incredible because once the high concept part is gone, it’s quasi-legal. As I said, most of the fight takes place on the ground. Very little is going on to the untrained eye. How do you turn that into a monster? Right? He came and just changed the rules.”

Dana White, who was also present during the discussion, also shared his two cents. He said, “I mean, when the first UFC came out. I remember everybody, you know. I was in the boxing world and everybody was talking about it. Nobody believed that this was real and this was going to happen. There’s no rules, there’s no this, you know, and that type of stuff is what you would call viral today.”

White’s influence in the MMA world has undeniably been evident. And, something similar to that, White, along with his team at the newly formed promotion, Zuffa, is eyeing to do in the boxing world.

Dana White addresses questions surrounding the Ali Act

Zuffa Boxing is currently in the middle of a legislative push to amend the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act through the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act (H.R. 4624). A few weeks ago, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the bill with a 30–4 vote, sending it to the U.S. House of Representatives for further consideration.

The amendment particularly proposes changes to the existing Ali Act, including the introduction of Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs). Now, the current development has critics raising concerns. But Dana White has ensured how they are planning to push the amendment without altering the Ali Act.

“They were very concerned about the Muhammad Ali Act and all these other things. None of that is gonna change for them,” White stated during the Zuffa Boxing 01 press conference. He further added that the plan is not to alter the Ali Act. “We’re not changing one word of that. It’s gonna be intact.”

With Zuffa’s intention to have a UFC-like model in boxing, fighters and other critics are particularly concerned about the fighter pay issue. But now, everything is bleak. And it will be interesting to see the further developments in the comments. On that note, let us know your thoughts about it in the comments below!