Quote of the Day: Dana White Says UFC to Be Biggest Sport in the World
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 27, 2009 12:49 PM EST
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"UFC will be the biggest sport in the world by 2020. People were saying I was a lunatic 10 years ago when we first got this going, but the stuff we’re working on right now on so many levels is mind-boggling.... The sport was just sanctioned in Massachusetts and Vancouver. We’re going to get it done in Ontario and New York in 2010. And we’re already working on taking the UFC global. We’ve already done Germany, England and Ireland, and we just sold 22,000 seats for an event in Australia in 15 minutes.... Right now we are on some form of television in over 175 countries. We’re all human beings and we all 'get' fighting.... Me and Lorenzo Fertitta will sit down and figure out a game plan for the next 10 years, and we’ll execute it. So, is 10 years enough time to make this the biggest sport in the world? Hell, yeah."
- Dana White via the Las Vegas Sun
The sport's growth is fantastic and as someone who deeply loves MMA it still blows my mind to see the PPV buy numbers. However, I can't ever see MMA ever being much more than a niche sport. That isn't to say that the growth will die off entirely. But I don't think we'll ever see MMA have the mass appeal in America of a sport like football or baseball and I don't see it having the global appeal of soccer.
This isn't a bad thing, it's just that I think it's unrealistic to pretend that we're on our way to a world dominated by MMA and far too many fans of the sport are gullible enough to buy into it as more than just typical Dana media work.
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lol
I’m so sick of hearing that too, he’s the reason that there are so many morons out there.
Check out my articles at www.fightlockdown.com
by MilesHackett on Dec 27, 2009 4:48 PM EST up reply actions
Note to self:
Never go to fightlockdown.com
"I’m sorry. I didn’t drink last night, so I’m not funny today."
-Sakuraba
by Charles Awad on Dec 27, 2009 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
Why, because I'm pointing out something that's true?
Many of the absurd positions held by casual fans can be traced back to remarks made by Dana White. People calling mixed martial arts “ultimate fighting”/ “UFC”, or buying into outlandish remarks surrounding Fedor Emelianenko, all initiated and propagated by the UFC’s president.
Yes, he’s promoting his business, but he shouldn’t be doing so through misinformation. The UFC holds a vast majority of the MMA pie, but they are not the whole pie.
Check out my articles at www.fightlockdown.com
by MilesHackett on Dec 27, 2009 7:49 PM EST up reply actions
Mixed Martial Arts was coined by Inoki to describe his often worked fights against people of different martial arts. I don’t know about you, but I would rather use a term as far from “worked fights” as possible.
Vale Tudo seems the best term to me.
Guillotine.
he’s the reason that there are so many morons out there
Dana White birthed ignorism.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t drink last night, so I’m not funny today."
-Sakuraba
by Charles Awad on Dec 27, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions
I apologize for the general nature of my statement, I should have been more specific.
My position is that Dana White, as an authority figure in our sport, he should be held more accountable for the things that he says because people will ultimately privilege his opinion, due to his place within the hierarchy of the sport. Confusing your brand with the sport, or intentionally doing so, is ignorant and consequently proliferates that ignorance.
I am hopeful that most newcomers to the sport will venture from the cave and
realize there is a world of MMA that doesn’t take place inside an octagon.
Check out my articles at www.fightlockdown.com
by MilesHackett on Dec 27, 2009 8:56 PM EST up reply actions
it’s not ignorant, it’s his job.
He isn’t the President of MMA, he’s the President of the UFC, it’s in his best interests to equate his brand with the sport, just like it’s in Johnson & Johnson’s to equate adhesive bandages and band aids, Kleenex to equate Kleenex and facial tissues, and what the president of every other company in the world hopes to do with their company and their industry.
He’s the president of the UFC, but he’s also the most powerful man in MMA. And even though he’s doing his job, he’s only doing it as a favor to his own brand and not the sport. That’s a major issue I have with White; he acts as though his interest lies in the sport as a whole, when his only interest is the UFC. It’s apparent in his disapproval of co-promotion, his trash-talk towards fighters not signed with the UFC, and revealed in quotes like the one in this article where he refers to the UFC as the sport.
We don’t waltz around calling hockey “NHL”, despite the fact it’s the dominant league in the sport. It’s a brand and as prominent as it is in the sport, it is not to be confused for the sport itself.
Check out my articles at www.fightlockdown.com
by MilesHackett on Dec 28, 2009 3:33 AM EST up reply actions
he acts as though his interest lies in the sport as a whole, when his only interest is the UFC
The sport as a whole often benefits from Dana’s efforts to move the UFC forward.
Zuffa has spent a boatload of money trying to get MMA legalized in Ontario and New York. Who cares what their motivation is when it benefits everyone in the sport. Ask folks in Pennsylvania how much success they had getting MMA legalized before Mark Ratner and the Zuffa machine rolled into town and joined the fight.
More often than not, Zuffa’s best interest is also the sports best interest.
The other big sports are not good examples because they are not nearly as dominant in their sports as the UFC is to MMA.
Hockey was around before the NHL, football was around before the NFL, to the majority of the world, UFC =MMA, comparing to other sports that aren’t nearly as dominant is dumb.
Do people ever ask for adhesive bandages when they get cut? No, the ask for bandaids. How many people ask for cola when they are eating out? I always hear everyone ask for Coke.
If you want to go sports, do people care about stock car racing? No, it’s all boiled down to NASCAR or the specific series name. The commissioners of the other sports (and the president’s of every company in the universe would kill to have the brand recognition that the UFC has. To expect Dana to ignore one of the biggest advantages he has in business is just dumb.
Brent, I agree that I don’t see MMA ever being as big as baseball or soccer is around the globe, but do you think it could at least be as big as boxing used to be?
That is a possibility...
I think it’s more dependent on more countries developing successful stars than simply the UFC hosting events in their country.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 27, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
Right, but by hosting events in those countries it gets more people interested in MMA and gives it more exposure, more exposure means more people there wanting to train and more foreign stars in the future.
Oh sure...
i’m just saying…the key is going to be IF it catches on in a way that creates an interest that creates stars. I mean, obviously in the UK it worked out quite well with camps coming up that have legitimate fighters now
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 27, 2009 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
I should also point out...
that boxing is still VERY healthy outside of America
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 27, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions
White is delusionnal
He won’t reach 5% of the popularity of football (soccer).
by JackO on Dec 27, 2009 11:08 AM EST reply actions 4 recs
^This. Soccer routinely draws thousands and tens of thousands of spectators in weekly matches all around the globe. There are entire stadiums with tens of thousands of seats built exclusively for soccer (the biggest soccer stadium in the world, Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, seats 105 000 spectators. The biggest soccer stadium in Europe, Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, seats just a hair under 100 000 – and total sellouts happen more often than you’d think. The international federation of soccer, FIFA, has more nations as members than the United Nations. Soccer world championships – the FIFA World Cup – is the most watched sporting event in the world (the final of the 2006 tournament was viewed by 75.1 million people all around the world.
Sorry, Dana, but MMA will never be that big. Never.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Dec 27, 2009 11:55 AM EST up reply actions
Isn't that a game 6 year olds play?
I’ll bring the orange slices!
/ducks from thrown objects from all corners of the world…
"The moment you stop thinking you're the best, it's time for you to get out the game." -'King' Mo Lawal
Eh, I think you're kind of off-base Brent.
It’s not unrealistic for UFC to be at the same level in the world conscienceness that Boxing used to be back in the day.
Granted, that’d still place it below football in the States and Soccer in most of the rest of the world, but it’d still solidify itself as a solid number 2 in most countries at that level of popularity.
However, 10 years is a long time, and as we’ve seen with other top sports things can and do knock them down pegs like strikes and scandels.
It’s really unlikely they are the top spot in the world, but it’s just as unlikely that they remain a niche sport.
Associate Writer - WindyCityGridiron.com
i've been trying for the last 15 minutes
but i couldn’t manufacture a dumber quote. a sport based on violence won’t ever make basketball or soccer even notice.
and for the recored, as a huge mma fan (who trains ufc), i don’t want the sport to go mainstream. Not that i have anything to worry about.
“as a huge mma fan (who trains ufc)”
How do you train UFC?
by Beyondadrenalin on Dec 27, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions 3 recs
He and his team spend 15 minutes per training session perfecting his walkout for his eventual UFC debut.
by 831 Son on Dec 27, 2009 11:47 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
i figured this intellectual community would pick up on my sarcasm...
guess not. thats a false rec, my people.
And any intelligent person with experience on internet boards
Knows that sarcasm in written form is hard to pick up on.
I think we got it
That’s why we rec’d it, because he took it seriously, that’s what made it funny.
by ufc4 on Dec 27, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
The NFL is much bigger than the NBA
"I’m sorry. I didn’t drink last night, so I’m not funny today."
-Sakuraba
by Charles Awad on Dec 27, 2009 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
Mmmm...
Violence.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t drink last night, so I’m not funny today."
-Sakuraba
by Charles Awad on Dec 27, 2009 8:44 PM EST up reply actions
The NFL earns more money than the NBA, but the NBA has the higher international profile.
People actually watch the NBA in Europe, China, South America, Africa, etc and know many of the most prominent players. Nobody watches the NFL outside of North America and I am pretty sure Peyton Manning could walk around in total anonymity on other continents. I’ll guarantee you that more non-Americans know who Kobe and Shaq are than know who Manning and Tom Brady are.
It’s a slight exaggeration to say ‘nobody’ watches NFL outside North America. The sport does have something of a following in Europe – but in the interests of honesty, it’s nowhere near the popularity it has in North America.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Dec 28, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions
Odd then that the NFL sells out the arena every time they play in England.
by Chris Barton on Dec 28, 2009 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t know. Over the next fifty to a hundred years, I could see this getting pretty huge. It largely depends on whether it can catch on in places like China/Russia/India, how well the sport can maintain the interest of very different groups of people (age, sex, nationality, language), and the infrastructure of the business can transition to account for the extra eye balls from all over.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
It will never be the number one sport in the world, no matter what.
It’s just too violent and not team based. It won’t top the biggest individual sport as well like tennis or F1.
Probably true, but I still think it has the unique combination of elements that could propel it to a level of huge that could make Dana White blush, all this promoter talk aside.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Dec 27, 2009 11:34 AM EST up reply actions
F1?
Really?
Tennis and golf, sure I don’t see MMA getting bigger than that. But F1? Really? Millionaires in super-sized go-karts? What’s the attendance on F1 events? NASCAR gets 160,000 on a bad weekend in Bristol, TN, and I can’t see MMA reaching NASCAR numbers.
"The moment you stop thinking you're the best, it's time for you to get out the game." -'King' Mo Lawal
The ticket prices in F1 are nowhere near what most of its fanbase is able to afford and the spectators around the track are often treated rather poor (for example, since there are no monitors around the track, it’s often nigh on impossible to keep track of who’s winning). F1 lives on its TV revenue, not ticket sales.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Dec 28, 2009 11:27 AM EST up reply actions
I think MMA could be HUGE in India. Forms of catch wrestling have been popular in India for some time now, and the WWF/WWE has had success pushing their product in India as well. I think these fans could be easily transitioned into becoming fans of MMA
Doesn't take much equipment
and can appeal to kids of all sizes with weight classes in us. I could see it happening.
"The moment you stop thinking you're the best, it's time for you to get out the game." -'King' Mo Lawal
Dana, the liar
I know he’s a promoter and all, but I still can’t take anything he says seriously anymore after how “excited” he was about TUF 10.
On top of that, he’s talking about how he’s expanded into all of these regions, but he fails to mention how soccer/futbol is a RELIGION in those regions. I love MMA as much as the next guy, but not even my beloved basketball will ever take over the popularity of soccer.
No one wants to see Diego Sanchez’ gashed forehead on the six o clock news.
End of story.
by some schmuck in texas on Dec 27, 2009 11:52 AM EST reply actions
okay, I think you’re a far outlier on the six o clock news thing, but that jpg gets a rec.
by some schmuck in texas on Dec 27, 2009 12:03 PM EST reply actions
I'm surprised how many fans still get rattled over what Dana White says
Dana White is a promoter whose product has seen unparalleled growth in a short time. However, he talks up his @$$ all the time, so it astounds me that some just don’t take it for the grain of salt that it is. MMA is growing worldwide for sure, but I have a very hard time believing that it will be the biggest sport in the world. I can see MMA’s popularity reaching to a point where it would be normal to see more MMA fighters coming out of countries outside of Brazil, the U.S, Japan, Canada, or the U.K, and that itself will be a huge accomplishment.
I recall the heads of NASCAR saying something similar about their sport too, but that has indeed plateaued. As a diehard mma and soccer fan, I would fucking love this, but wont happen in 50 years or even, ever. Soccer is just too ingrained in 95% of Third World Countries in a way that MMA can’t match..Although Id love to see a group of poor children in Zimbabwe practicing submissions on a dirt field while their friends watch mimicking the voices of Joe Rogan or Mauro Renallo.
10 years just isn’t a enough time to become the biggest sport in America, let alone the world. They should be setting smaller goals, like surpassing the NHL in 10 years..This is very similar to when in Early 2000’s The United Sates Soccer Federation claimed they would win the World Cup in 2010..The reason was they saw an extremely fast growth and improvement in talent over 3 or 4 years. Thus, they thought it would continue at that rate propelling them to the top by 2010. What they failed to realize was that progression wasnt natural or logical..They peaked in 2002, but have been improving slightly each year..I would love to see MMA and soccer at the top. I love them both for how creative and multi cultural they are..
Finally, I just don’t think a NON-TEAM sport will ever be the most popular in the world…Sorry for the rant.
by DamnSevern on Dec 27, 2009 12:20 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
NASCAR rainout coverage outdraws NBA playoff games
I’d say NASCAR reached a pretty high plateau.
"The moment you stop thinking you're the best, it's time for you to get out the game." -'King' Mo Lawal
No way MMA becomes the biggest sport in the world.
I just don’t see it happening, but what I do see is that it will be at least as big as boxing used to be, when people would look forward to the fights on tv, etc.
I love me some Sexyama!
I don’t have any problem with Dana saying that because to me it just shows how committed he is to the sport and how much he believes in it. So I’m not going to berate someone for showing passion and enthusiasm for what they truly believe in.
Having said that it would be impossible for the UFC itself to put on enough shows in a calender year to out grow the popularity of soccer. Considering in a lot of places soccer is taken so serious it can result in violent rioting over losses….. on second thought maybe if those soccer fans that turn to violence after a big loss embrace MMA to quell their thirst for violence instead of rioting it might have a chance. It just won’t happen in 10 years though.
Just BE.
It would only lead to more technical riots
an army of mad arm-barring fans
I can die happy now that I've been to a UFC event. 107 rocked
by slapjaw ackrite on Dec 27, 2009 1:53 PM EST up reply actions
Dana is crazy enough to make this happen, maybe not THE biggest sport in the world, but close.....
How long did it take the NFL to reach it’s current status? Although the NFL has been the #1 sport in the country since 1965, it has had it’s biggest growth phase in the 90’s and early 2000’s.
I can see Zuffa taking the UFC WAY beyond the blogosphere’s expectations. The biggest sport in the world? Na, no one is taking over soccer.
love his Ambition
if anyones gonna make it happen its gonna be Dana
If he takes himself seriously then he should at least act like it. How long have those Gladiator intro’s been in the UFC, how long has that Metal intro been going on now, how entertaining and imaginative is the UFC’s product outside of the fights, how repetitive and entertaining are the UFC shows?
The product the UFC sells doesn’t even come close to looking like the biggest sport in the world. Outside of the fights it looks niche, repetitive, unimaginative, stale and underwhelming.
The UFC has got along way to go before it’s product even looks half as good as some of the K1 events. At least follow up what you’re saying Dana, if you even treated like the best sport in the world then at least someone would believe you.
Whether he makes it the biggest sport in the world doesn't matter
What matters is that you have someone who is committed to what he does, who so strongly believe in the sport, that he is basically dedicating his life to making it succeed. Where was MMA now before Zuffa bought the UFC and where is it now? Or even now as compared to four years ago? So how big might MMA get if White still has this sort of passion and uses that passion for the next 20-30 years to make further inroads into establishing MMA a permanent part of the sports landscape? That’s what matters in the long run, not the hyperbole of his statement,.
by andherewego on Dec 27, 2009 4:02 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Don King
could kill 80% of the BE members with 1 news conference.
Only the ones in America.
Keep firing Assholes!
Fedor has accomplished nothing until he fights Kimbo.
by Ubernoober on Dec 27, 2009 4:38 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
...
“and we just sold 22,000 seats for an event in Australia in 15 minutes….”
Pretty sure it was 17,000 tickets and they were on sale for 5 days. but hey..
Well he’s just being a promoter right?
Isn’t that the usual reply when Dana says something outlandish or something even he doesn’t believe?
by scrambledeggs on Dec 27, 2009 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
If he it is not a sport what is it? U have to be and outstanding athelete to compete and have phenominal conditong , U also compete against others, and u r trying to become a champion at something., To me that is a sport, like boxing and wrestling, r considered sports right?
Totally agree
I should say, I trained High School, then I trained NCAA and after that I should train Olympics, nobody would think I’m stupid If I said that.
See ya later, I’m gonna go play some NBA
Meh.
MMA is not a sport. MMA is just a name that adopted by fans of a sport in order to battle the human cockfighting image. You are arguing semantics. The sport is what occurs in the ring/cage, not the arbitrary name people use to describe it. Getting so worked up over semantics is just silly.
Not so fast Brookhouse… Let’s look at this a little bit closer:
The most valuable sports franchise is Manchester United (worth around 1.6billion)… The UFC is getting close and will surpass that in short order.
So the UFC being the biggest “sports franchise” in the world is pretty much already a certainty.
Now let’s go to what Dana really means with what he said… when he says this will be the biggest “sport” in the world what he means is this will be the biggest “sports league” in the world. He’s comparing the UFC to the NFL, MLB, and the Soccer Leagues, etc… he’s not comparing UFC to soccer or football in general.
Now even if this remains a “niche” like you say – as long as overseas penetration continues as is the UFC as a sports league will be at least top 3 worldwide eventually.
Now here’s where things get interesting:
2 billion people are about to enter the “consumption marketplace” (what we call “people wanting the american dream” or the “relative middle class”) and the world is about to change. These people dont give a shit about american football, baseball or basketball. Soccer will benefit most as well as other niche sports like cricket and MMA . Now unlike Soccer (which has seperate leagues in each marketplace) UFC is global and will be standing right infront of this tsunami.
The UFC 106 and 107 numbers further confirms that even though athletes fade away the UFC is “immortal” and has succeeded as a sports league whereas Pride and “MMA in Japan” failed.
The North american penetration in less than a decade (surpassing boxing and wwe combined in ppv)… What’s going on in the UK at the moment and how mexico, brazil, south korea, etc… is shaping up (which further confirms UFC translating across borders and languages) This is all a “petri dish” of what’s to come.
Tuf will be rolled out all over the world (I said 2 years ago here that if anyone wants to challenge Zuffa you go overseas and do a “tuf” and once hunkered in then you can toe the line but now that hole is gone).
UFC primetime has produced a lagging promotional affect with BJ penn and the UFC fan expo has a plethora of tangible and intangible benefits that will compound all the other efforts. The game has been a great tool.
The wec will be folded into the UFC brand once the spike deal is renegotiated in 2011 and a “smackdown” and “raw” fight night product will be utilized for cross syndication on different networks in each market…
Tuf, ufc primetime, fight nights, UFC fan expo’s, the video game, UFC numbered shows – content distribution on 2 different networks in each market…
The UFC being the biggest sports league in the world isn’t very far fetched. Whether it’s within 10 years or not, this eventually happening is a strong probability.
why soccer is popular
Why is rugby huge in England but not in America? Why is football huge in America and not England? Easy: They do not have rugby teams in American high schools otherwise it would be huge here too. How can England have a football fans with no football in the high schools? It is hard to understand the game if you have never played or even seen the game. It is impossible to have a plethra of football players playing pro from a country that has no high school football and thus impossible to have fans for a sport that no one has ever seen or played. How can you have many Rugby fans in the US when 99% of the people don’t even know the rules and with no high school teams you have no players and thus would have to watch teams from another country play. Why is hockey huge in Canada? Because it is in the high schools.
Now for soccer: soccer is the easiest sport for a school to have because it is wayyyy cheaper than hockey or football or even basketball. Even a peasent country like Yemen can string together a soccer field, 2 goals and a team. That is why it is number one. It is the only sport played at the high school level in every country. In America the only country to have football in almost all of the high schools and soccer football absolutely DOMINATES soccer. When exposed to both soccer and football equally football wins in all 50 states. It is a matter of exposure to the youth. If you want a pro team in a sport you need it in the high school and colleges and if you want fans you need pros from your country. MMA will never be in high schools but it might make it into colleges only with more rules maybe something along the lines of no ground n pound.
Wrestling is already a collegiate sport… full-blown MMA, however, is such a different animal that I don’t see it being accepted into colleges. ADCC-style grappling might have a better chance, though.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Dec 28, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
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