On a slow and steady afternoon, Dana White handed Steve-O, the wild-eyed stuntman from Jackass, a diamond-studded ‘Phorm‘ can and a few cold cans of the same energy drink as well. Steve-O, while revealing White’s gift to him, said, “Huge thanks to Dana White for this outrageous gift and his new Phorm Energy. Pretty goddam delicious.”

What might’ve seemed like a casual shoutout was actually the opening salvo in what’s becoming one of the most unexpected rivalries of 2025: Dana White vs. Logan Paul. Steve-O has just announced a rival to Logan Paul’s Prime Energy drink, and at the helm of this new energy drink brand is the UFC CEO and President, Dana White. The Prime Energy drink has already captured a huge part of the world and organizations like WWE for its promotion, so for the business tycoon in White, the path ahead for the Phorm energy drink is going to be long and rough.

The announcement’s shock value increases when we realise that officially, the UFC remains deeply tied to Monster Energy through a landmark sponsorship deal. The record-breaking sponsorship deal with Monster Energy, now valued at $56.95 billion, is reportedly the largest sponsorship pact in UFC history. Regarding this, Dana once stated, “Monster’s been amazing to us. They’re more than a partner; they’re family.” But will the sentiments be the same when their brands go head to head in the future? But how did Phorm Energy become a reality?

On January 15th, 2025, Anheuser-Busch and 1st Phorm jointly announced a partnership to break into the energy drink market, backed by none other than the UFC boss, Dana White. Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, called the collaboration a meeting of “two American manufacturers with proud St. Louis roots and complementary expertise.” Sal Frisella, CEO of 1st Phorm, added, “We look forward to creating a new wave of energy and other beverages.” But even if we try to make it about business, we have to understand it’s personal, and his target is Logan Paul and his Prime Energy.

Logan Paul, the WWE Superstar and co-founder of the wildly successful Prime Energy, has long clashed with Dana White over everything from fight legitimacy to marketing tactics. But now, with both men pushing their own beverage brands, the feud has spilled from press conferences into store aisles. Dana is even targeting a different audience than Paul’s, as White’s Phorm Energy seems to be gunning for the broader, performance-focused crowd, leveraging 1st Phorm’s two decades in sports nutrition and Dana’s own connection to elite combat sports. So will the MMA giant become an energy drink industry giant too?

With Dana White stepping into the energy drink market through Phorm Energy, many are wondering: will UFC fighters stick with Monster Energy, the long-time sponsor of the Octagon, or rally behind their boss’s new brand?

Will UFC fighters switch allegiances after boss Dana White brings Phorm Energy?

Although officially, the UFC remains deeply tied with Monster Energy through a landmark sponsorship deal, now reportedly worth hundreds of millions. Fighters like Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, and Michael Chandler have appeared in Monster-backed campaigns, and the brand has its logo at the front and center in every UFC event. Monster has become synonymous with the UFC’s global image.

Many fighters with strong ties to 1st Phorm’s fitness community or those dissatisfied with their current sponsor exposure will possibly do it all to make this new deal happen for themselves. However, fighters also often align themselves with brands not just for a paycheck but also for the relationships and belief in the product. And Dana White, who has turned many fighters into stars, holds significant sway in that arena.

This puts the UFC in a subtle dilemma: Can fighters promote Dana’s new drink without jeopardizing Monster’s position? For now, it’s a gray area, but if Phorm becomes the official drink of the UFC, certain levels of compromise can become inevitable in the relationship between Dana White and Monster Energy.

But he is aiming to topple Prime Energy. With Phorm’s creation, White doesn’t just want to make his own empire in the energy drink industry, but to stand on top of the company of Logan Paul, who has given Dana a hard time publicly on many occasions. But the road is pretty long ahead. Can Dana White and Phorm make it all the way? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.