“I’m the A**Hole”: Paul Heyman Admits Role in Nearly Ending Dana White’s $11.3 Billion Expansion Plans in Old Clip

UFC’s journey started in 1993, way before Dana White entered the picture. The face of the UFC was assigned Presidency in 2001, a few years before UFC started producing The Ultimate Fighter in 2005. It was also the last few months that WWE spent on Spike TV. At the time, both the promotions shared the same home where UFC’s show aired after Monday Night Raw. And Paul Heyman had a suggestion.

Paul Heyman recently revealed that Vince McMahon‘s decision to not be afraid of the rising MMA promotion led to them having a pivotal shift in the fanbase, winning over a lot of audiences that are loyal to this day.

Paul Heyman nearly ended Dana White’s UFC journey early on!

As a last resort, White had chosen Spike TV to boost the popularity of The Ultimate Fighter for its debut season in 2005. At the time, Monday Night Raw was already on the channel since 2000. The timings of the two shows were close, granting Vince McMahon the opportunity to approve or decline any programming that followed his show.

While the former WWE CEO stayed unbothered at the time, Heyman confessed, “No. I told him he better not let them on. I’m the a**hole that almost turned the tide.” He also recalled in the old interview, “‘Come on pal. Should I be afraid of basketball too?’ Yes. Be afraid of anything that’s gonna take away from your pay-per-view dollar.”

It could have ended Dana White’s $11.3 Billion expansion plans. Since Endeavor acquired both companies, these issues have vanished. Moreover, the streaming and broadcasting systems have changed a lot. However, despite being sibling companies now, both the promotions are still compared based on their revenue and how much profit they are making as a corporation.

Dana White’s promotion is lacking behind WWE

Forbes recently released a report showing the market valuation of different promotions in 2023. The total revenue of Dana White’s MMA company stood at $1.29 Billion, making UFC the lead in the business. Despite how UFC does in the market, it still didn’t beat WWE.

At a whopping distance, the Stamford-based company’s market value was discovered to be around $6.8 Billion. Even though the two companies are not in direct competition, we can see a stark difference in their performances. If Vince McMahon had accepted Paul Heyman’s advice back in the day, UFC may not have been on the list at all.

Do you think Vince McMahon cutting slack helped Dana White to ultimately take UFC to new heights?