In the early 2000s, the UFC was circling the drain. The promotion was bleeding money, buried under $40 million in debt, and viewed by much of the public as little more than a barbaric spectacle—“human cockfighting,” as Senator John McCain famously called it. Major states like New York had outright banned it. And one day, Lorenzo Fertitta, co-owner of the UFC, picked up the phone and called UFC President Dana White. His voice was heavy. “I can’t keep funding this f—ing thing, man,” he said. “Me and my brother are blowing all our f—ing money. Get out there and see what you can sell this thing for.” White recalled.

It was a logical move. Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta had bought the UFC for $2 million from SEG in 2001, and now it was threatening to become a financial black hole. White did his due diligence. He shopped it around and came back with a number: $8 million. That was the going rate for the company if they wanted out. But just when it seemed like the Fertittas were ready to walk away, the casino titan called Dana back with a line that would change sports history: “F–k it. Let’s keep going.”

And just like that, the UFC was saved and went on to become the most valuable combat sports promotion in the world. But there was one, perhaps even more important moment in the history of the promotion that literally saved it, which Dana White recalled in a recent interview with Khloe Kardashian. “Something that I think is really fascinating is your TV show that started in 2005. The Ultimate Fighter, and it’s still running. And you attribute the success of the UFC partially because of the reality show,” Kardashian said.

“No, 100% because of the reality show,” White corrected her. “At the time, we couldn’t get on television… this thing was, I mean, it was illegal in some places. That’s how bad it was. Think about this, as a grown adult, you didn’t have the right to buy it on pay-per-view. P–n was on pay-per-view, the UFC was not allowed on pay-per-view.”

“And when did that change?” the reality TV star asked. “After the Ultimate Fighter. Once we got the Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV and, you know, it blew up and, you know, did massive numbers, then we got back on pay-per-view and that’s how the business really got rolling,” White added.

Indeed, the finale of the first season of ‘TUF’, where Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin went to war for three rounds is considered the most important fight in the history of the sport. That fight, it can be said without any exaggeration, literally saved the UFC. But don’t believe us. We’ll let Joe Rogan explain exactly why!

How did the ‘TUF 1’ finale save Dana White and Co. from going under

“They were hemorrhaging money, man. This is all pre-Ultimate Fighter… Then they figured it out. That Ultimate Fighter show, they financed the whole show, paid for all of it, paid to be on the network, and then boom! That one final fight with Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, and these two crazy motherf—ers are beating the s–t out of each other, and it is a wild melee of a fight,” Rogan told former MMA star Joe Schilling on episode #1497 of his JRE podcast.

Indeed, the fight was an absolute cracker with both Griffin and Bonnar giving it their all to try and earn a spot in the UFC. In the end, Griffin won a unanimous decision victory on all three judges’ scorecards. But so impressed was Dana White (and indeed everyone watching) that Bonnar was also offered a UFC contract on the spot. Those fifteen minutes were the most important in the history of the UFC, as they led to an explosion of new, often first-time viewers tuning in and becoming lifelong UFC fans.

“And the viewership just keeps going up during the fight. Millions and millions of people watched during the fight, like tuned in, extra people tuned in because people are calling their friends like ‘bro, you gotta watch it, this is nuts.’ People didn’t even know what it was, like ‘what is this? Do they got little gloves on? What is happening here?” Rogan added.

White even mentioned that the UFC brass met Spike TV officials right after the event and signed a TV deal that essentially saved the sport of MMA in the United States. What do you think about Dana White’s revelations about The Ultimate Fighter’s role in securing the UFC’s future?