Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has had a deep and enduring relationship with the UFC and its CEO, Dana White. Not only is the Hollywood megastar on the board of TKO, the parent group that owns both the UFC and the WWE, but he is also a fan of the world’s largest MMA promotion and even has a brand partnership with the UFC for his footwear brand. And that is not all. He is in the process of shooting a film based on the life of UFC legend Mark Kerr and is good friends with White.

This is a massive plus for the UFC since he is one of the most influential men in America, with one of the most followed social media accounts in the world. And it turns out, it was Dana White who got him started on his social media journey.

Dana White got Dwayne Johnson to set up social media

F0rmer NFL star and sports broadcaster Shannon Sharpe on his ‘Club Shay Shay’ asked Dana White if it was true that he “really got Rock on social media. What’s your relationship with The Rock?” The UFC CEO revealed that he was good friends with the former WWE superstar, and regularly spoke with him. In addition, he confirmed that he had been the one who convinced ‘The Rock’ to join social media, identifying the huge potential it held for the action star.

“I have a great relationship with him. We probably talk a couple times a month. And yeah, at the time he wasn’t on social media and I was like are you nuts? Do you have any idea how big you would be on social media, and da da da. And I actually got the people that ran my social media, I put on his to get him up and started and kind of get him going. And obviously you know the guy’s a trailblazer now in social media, and one of the biggest followed humans on earth, right,” Dana White told Sharpe.

The Power Slap founder claimed that he had his own social media team set up ‘The Scorpion King’ star with his first social media accounts. However, White did not speak about which social media platform he set him up with, or when. However, the ‘Jumanji’ star confirmed in a social media post that this was indeed the case, commenting “Very true story” on an Instagram post that had reported White’s comments on the subject.

Johnson joined Twitter in 2011 and made an Instagram account (which is one of the top five most followed accounts in the world at the moment) in 2013. While it is not clear when he started his Facebook account, it is probably within the same ballpark. So successful is Johnson’s social media that the Hollywood star is paid extra by studios and producers for his social media over and above his upfront fees and back-end cut. And it seems he has Dana White to thank for this, who thinks his next role might land him an Academy Award for acting.

‘The Rock’ is working hard for Mark Kerr’s biopic

Dwayne Johnson is gearing up to play the legendary Mark Kerr, one of the earliest stars in the UFC during the promotion’s pre-Zuffa and Dana White, a no-holds-barred era in the mid to late nineties. And the former pro wrestler is hard at work preparing for the role. In a recent Instagram post, ‘The Rock’ revealed the great lengths he was going through to try to do the role justice, which had even led to a gruesome elbow injury. And White, because of the dedication and hard work ‘The Rock’ is putting into the role, believes that the Hollywood star might get an Oscar nomination for best actor.

“The Rock will kill this. He will nail this role. I know how serious he’s taking this, I know who’s working with him, and I know how hard he’s working on this film. I think that this could be the opportunity for The Rock to actually be nominated for an Oscar,” Dana White told ‘Collider’ in a recent interview.

The biopic is being directed by ‘Uncut Gems’ fame Bennie Safdie and will star English actress Emily Blunt opposite Johnson. While no date has been set for its release as the film is in the process of being shot, it is expected to release something in 2025. Are you excited to see Johnson play the role of MMA fighter on the big screen? Let us know in the comments below.