Dana White Recalls Witnessing Boxing “Fall Apart” in Front of His Eyes Before Starting as a Manager for UFC Fighters

Published 12/21/2022, 10:36 AM EST

Dana White is a pivotal figure in the world of mixed martial arts and combat sports. He has been behind the rise of MMA in the world through the UFC. But this wasn’t the case earlier. Boxing led the combat sports game during the nascent stages of UFC. However, Dana White saw the downfall of boxing and wanted to utilize it for a subsequent rise in mixed martial arts. In an interview with Grant Cardone, White explained his reasoning for boxing’s downfall.

Dana White has been involved with the UFC since 2001 and he currently serves as the UFC President. It is almost impossible to imagine the UFC without its maestro, however; he was almost close to leaving the UFC.

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Dana White saw the downfall of boxing

Talking about the scenario in 1989, White said, “Boxing was huge. Boxing was as big as it ever been in the late 80s early 90s. And then you know [it] really started falling apart as it started getting in the late 90s and early 2000s.”

Furthermore, the UFC President explained to Grant Cardone, “I saw it started to fall apart at the amateur level… All the big amateur box-offs were on NBC. NBC had just gotten rid of them… The last guy to fight on NBC was Floyd Mayweather.”

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White further explained his stance, “When you really look at it, it was Floyd and Oscar and a couple of other Big Stuff Manny Pacquiao were the last of the real big starts of boxing.”

White, on how he fell in love with MMA

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In the same interview, Dana White revealed that he fell in love with MMA even before he joined the UFC. He shared a story with Cardone stating that he and Lorenzo Fertitta wanted to learn jiu-jitsu and through that journey met a lot of fighters.

Furthermore, White said that each boxer has the same story, “I came from the mean streets of such-and-such… and if weren’t for boxing, I’d be in jail...” However, he said that is not the case in MMA by citing the example of Chuck Liddell looking like an “axe-murderer” but having a degree in accounting from Cal Poly.

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WATCH THIS STORY–Tyson Fury, Kamaru Usman, Dana White And Others React To Mike Tyson Battering A Drunk Fan On A Flight.

What do you think about the analysis of Dana White about boxing? Is he too biased or spitting straight facts?

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Written by:

Faizan Mirza is a UFC Writer at Essentially Sports. He has had a keen eye on the UFC since 2015 and is a fan of Conor McGregor because of his attitude and charisma. Faizan had been following McGregor's ascent in the sport.

Edited by:

Vineet Nandwana

Dana White Recalls Witnessing Boxing “Fall Apart” in Front of His Eyes Before Starting as a Manager for UFC Fighters

Dana White saw the downfall of boxing

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White, on how he fell in love with MMA