UFC president Dana White is one of the most recognizable, and most important figures in MMA history. White helped guide the UFC to success in the early 2000s and hasn't looked back since. His boisterous and sometimes divisive personality has led to him having loads of fans, and also loads of detractors who would love nothing more than to see him gone.
However, despite him being a figurehead of the world's largest MMA promotion for over twenty years at this point, there are lots of things that fans still don't know about the UFC president and chief.
10 White Used To Be A Boxing Coach.
Before Dana White was the president of the UFC and promoting massive fights, he was actually a boxing coach. White got the job after dropping out of college, and it was mainly due to his experience of having been a boxer in his teenage years.
For what it's worth, White wasn't any Freddie Roach type. He was mostly a boxercise instructor more so than an actual coach, but it is a fun little piece of trivia.
9 He Was Run Out Of Boston By The Mob.
While Dana White was still residing in Boston, he ran into a little bit of trouble with notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, according to White. He was actually run out of town by the gangster and moved to Vegas after being threatened for money.
Years later after he was run out of town, White gave an interview where he told the story:
"He basically said, 'You owe us money'. It was like $2,500, which was like $25,000 to me back then, and said, 'You owe us money.' It was actually a guy named Kevin Weeks, who if you saw the trial he's Whitey's right-hand man. I'm sure he's very prominent in the movie, but yeah basically said I owed him some money, and I didn't pay him. This went on for a while and one day I was at my place and I got a call and they said, 'You owe us the money tomorrow by 1 o'clock'. I literally hung up the phone, picked up the phone and called Delta and bought a ticket to Vegas."
8 White Used To Be A Manager For Tito Ortiz And Chuck Liddell.
White's start in MMA didn't start as a UFC official — he started as someone negotiating against the UFC. White worked as the manager for both the UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, as well as Ortiz's friend and training partner Chuck Liddell.
White being the manager for Ortiz and Liddell allowed him to learn that the UFC was also looking for new owners, in which he contacted his friends in Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta to let them know. Soon, the brothers bought the company, installed White as president, and the rest is history.
7 White Nearly Had A Boxing Match Against Tito Ortiz.
In 2007, the Dana White vs. Tito Ortiz rivalry was in full swing. Their beef got so real, in fact, that Ortiz and White nearly had a full-blown boxing match.
White allegedly trained extensively for the bout, but in the end, the bout never came to be. White blames Ortiz for the fight not coming together, and Ortiz blames White, but regardless of blame, it is a shame that we never saw the two men settle the beef in fisticuffs.
6 His Relationship With His Family Is Not Great.
Dana White may be loved by many fans and fighters, but his relationship with his family, more specifically his mother, isn't the best to put it lightly.
White's own mother released a book in 2011 about Dana, dubbed "Dana White, King of MMA: An Unauthorized Biography", that states various scandelous things. Notably, that White turned his back on his family and friends once the UFC took off and gained momentum.
5 He Was Sued In 2020.
Dana White was involved in a pretty crazy scandal in 2020 that went under the radar. Allegedly in 2013, White was filmed without his consent in a sex tape with a woman in Brazil. The woman's boyfriend allegedly attempted to extort White for money in return for the tape not leaking. The man was then hit with a criminal case as a result.
White was then sued by the pair, saying that White tried to bribe the man to plead guilty. White definitely denied this, and the lawsuit was promptly dismissed a few months later.
4 He Is A Very Good Friend Of Former President Donald Trump.
Dana White has been an outspoken advocate for former United States President Donald Trump. However, it goes beyond White just agreeing with Trump's politics — the two have been friends for well over twenty years.
The main reason for the pair's friendship is that when the UFC struggled to find locations to hold events, Trump was glad to welcome the events at his Trump Plaza property in the early 2000s.
3 White Is An Excellent Gambler.
Dana White has always been a noted casino fan, having jokingly described himself as a "degenerate gambler". However, White is actually quite good at the tables, and it's gotten him in trouble before.
According to White, he was actually previously banned by the Palms Casino in Las Vegas due to him winning $1.6 million from the casino in one night. They banned him by giving him a custom-made UFC championship belt, no joke.
2 White Has Meniere's Disease.
Dana White seemingly never misses a show, as he's obviously at all PPV shows, fight nights, and doesn't miss his weekly Dana White Contender Series program. However, it's actually quite surprising when taking into consideration White's health issues.
In 2012, White was officially diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, a neurological disorder that affects hearing and leads to a massive ringing in the ears. White has described the disease as "vertigo on steroids."
1 White Briefly Attempted Zuffa Boxing.
When Conor McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring in 2017, it was only supposed to be the beginning of White's boxing promotional career. White planned to launch "Zuffa Boxing", Zuffa being the parent company of the UFC.
However, due to multiple starts and stops over the years, there has yet to be a Zuffa Boxing event. White seemingly waved the white flag in 2020, saying that boxing was too corrupt for him to get involved with.
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