Dana White and the UFC are synonymous. For many, the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the UFC is the bombastic UFC CEO, who has been the face of the promotion for over two decades. Throughout all of the changes in ownership, White has been the constant owing to him being so good at his job.

In a conversation with comedian Theo Von on the latter’s podcast, the UFC boss talked about his discomfort at selling the promotion and his relationship with the new ownership group and its CEO, Ari Emanuel.

Dana White talks relationship with WME CEO Ari Emanuel

Theo Von asked Dana White how his relationship with William Morris Endeavor (WME), the parent company that owns the UFC and WWE was. The UFC boss was all praises for WME CEO Ari Emanuel and told Von that he was a serial entrepreneur. The Las Vegas resident revealed that he was against selling the promotion, but was convinced by the Fertitta brothers, the co-owners of Zuffa LLC, the company that owned the UFC, to do so. They also requested him to stay on as no one would buy the promotion without him, according to them.

“Ari [Emanuel] is a maniac man, a maniac in a good way… He’s super smart and in fact, you know, when we sold [the UFC], one of his big things was that I couldn’t go. So at one point the Fertitas sat down with me and they were like, because I thought we were just going to move on and go do whatever next. And they were just like… nobody’s going to buy this thing unless you stay,” White said.

White further revealed that he had difficulties in the beginning after selling the promotion. However, Emanuel let him run the business with minimal interference and would help him get things done and leverage his connections and contacts when the UFC needed it.

“In the beginning, I had a hard time with it because I you know I didn’t want to sell. So we got in with Ari. Ari lets me run the business, man, and just you know if I need help on something, like ‘hey I need this connection or I need this or that’ and he can make all that sh** happen,” he added. And despite his efforts to grow the popularity of the sport, some of White’s moves are very upsetting for fans, including his recent comments about a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight.

Dana White rubbishes a possible Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight

White was asked about a possible Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight in co-promotion with PFL, the promotion Ngannou is signed with. He made clear that he was not interested in it. The Boston native said that he had tried to make the fight when Ngannou was with the UFC, but now that he has left the UFC,” I’m not interested.”

Also Read: Post UFC 295, Dana White Accused of Stalling Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou in Co-Promotion With PFL Despite Several Trials

He ridiculed the idea of co-promoting with the PFL, pointing out that the UFC had the highest gate at the Madison Square Garden, while the PFL struggled to sell-out seats for its live events. What do you think about White’s refusal to make Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below.

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