“I Got Into a Huge Battle”: Dana White Recalls Surprising Turn of Events Involving BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz That Led to the Acquisition of the UFC 22 Years Ago

Dana White was the man responsible for bringing the Ultimate Fighting Championship back to life. The UFC was previously owned by Bob Meyrowitz. Although the fighting promotion saw days of popularity, it started facing a financial crisis back in 2000. In a recent conversation with the father-son duo from ‘Johnny Drinks’, the UFC president recalled the time when he, along with the Fertitta brothers, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, bought the UFC.

White recalled that he was training with the Fertitta brothers, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell during that time. When the UFC started to stumble, Ortiz happened to relay the information to White, who then convinced the Fertitta brothers to get hold of the company from Meyrowitz. Without a doubt, the decision turned out to be a great one for the new owners as well as the company. 

Dana White talks about how he bought the UFC along with the Fertitta brothers

Recently, White made an appearance on ‘The Johnny Drinks Podcast’. John Rondi Jr. asked the UFC boss to narrate the story of how he got involved with the UFC from the very beginning. White quickly fell into the land of nostalgia. He recalled that he began training in jiu-jitsu along with the Fertitta brothers. Undeniably, the boys fell in love with the sport.

He revealed that his instructor, John Lewis, knew the people from the UFC. Therefore, White got to train with Ortiz, Penn, and Lidell. Thereafter, he became the manager for Ortiz and Lidell. But things weren’t easy. He had a rough battle regarding Ortiz’s contract. Later, Ortiz hinted that the UFC didn’t have any more money, which inspired White to convince the Fertitta brothers to buy the company. Although he previously didn’t have enough money, he later took control of the organization and molded the UFC into what it is today.

White recalled, “And then I started managing Chuck and Tito, and through that, I got into a huge battle with the old owner of the UFC, named Bob Meyrowitz, who was from New York. And, you know, basically we’re battling over Tito’s contract and he flips out of me one day and says, ‘You know what? There is no more money! This is it! I don’t even know if I have enough money to put on one more event!’”

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He continued, “And I was like, ‘Oh sh*t!’ I called Lorenzo and I said ‘You know what? The UFC is in trouble. I’ll bet we can buy it and I think we should.’ So, I connected him and Lorenzo Fertitta, you know, the Fertitta brothers were my long time partners in the UFC.”

The secret behind the success of the UFC 

White was previously asked about how he kept moving ahead with the promotion. He revealed that the secret to any successful venture was to keep one’s ego in check. The UFC president referred to the famous band, Guns N’ Roses, and told how ego could hurt a business.

Without a doubt, the attitude of the owners was responsible for the exponential growth of the UFC. 

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