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Dana White

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Dana White
Born (1969-07-28) July 28, 1969 (age 55)
Manchester, CT, U.S.
NationalityUnited States American
OccupationPresident
Known forManaging The Ultimate Fighting Championship
StyleBoxercise [1]
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
SpouseAnne
Children3

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Biography

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.[3]

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.[5] White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.[3]

White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had made a multiple year deal.[6]

Controversy

Loretta Hunt

On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.[7][8][9] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.[10] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."[citation needed]

Miguel Torres

In December of 2011, White cut fighter Miguel Torres from the UFC after Torres tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises." In an interview with Sports Illustrated confirming Torres' firing over the controversial remarks, White claimed "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me." The firing of Torres immediately sparked controversy after it was revealed that White did not similarly punish two fighters of greater marquee value – Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, both of whom have fought in the main event of multiple Pay-Per-View cards and the latter slated to fight in the main event of a fight card scheduled to air on the FOX network on January 28, 2012 – for making similarly offensive remarks:[11] Griffin commenting that "Rape is the new missionary"[12] and Evans evoking the recent child abuse scandal involving Penn State University while promoting a fight.[13] Torres has since re-signed with the UFC after having a talk with Dana.

Charity

In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.[14] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".[15] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.[16]

Feud with M-1 Global

After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,[17] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.[18][19]

On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.[20] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.[21] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.[22] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults.[23]

There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.[24] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".[25] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.[26]

Personal life

White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.[27] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is "fascinated" by religion.[28]

Accomplishments

References

  1. ^ "Dana White, King of MMA". thefightnerd.com. Retrieved 2011-3-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Dana White Salary. celebritynetworth.com
  3. ^ a b McCarthy, Michael (2005-04-10). "Battles yield winning 'Fighter'". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  4. ^ Willert, Tim (1997-04-16). "Box aerobics class packs serious punch". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 1997-04-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Wickert, Marc (2004). "Dana White and the future of UFC". Knucklepit.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Mirror
  6. ^ Jonathan Stenvall. "BackstageOL With UFC 136′s Dana White, Edgar, Maynard, Aldo and Florian". http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/. BackstageOL. Retrieved 19 August 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  7. ^ Marvez, Alex (2009-04-02). "White's rant sends UFC down dangerous path". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  8. ^ "White uses slurs in video blog". ESPN. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  9. ^ "UFC boss curses out female reporter in tirade". Fox Sports. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  10. ^ "White sorry for anti-gay slur". ESPN.com. April 3, 2009.
  11. ^ Treadway, Dan (2011-12-12). "Miguel Torres Rape Joke: MMA Fighter Released By UFC Following Controversial Tweet". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  12. ^ Klopman, Michael (2011-11-09). "Forrest Griffin Rape Jokes: MMA Fighter Sparks Controversy On Twitter". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  13. ^ "UFC president speaks to fighter Rashad Evans after Penn State trash talk". The Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  14. ^ UFC president makes charity donation | Ruby Owen | Dana White. This is Staffordshire (2010-03-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  15. ^ Dana White Pays For A Fan’s $300 Speeding Ticket. Fightofthenight.Com (2010-08-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  16. ^ Wrestling – Dana White Named 2009 Nevada Sportsman Of The Year. 411mania.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  17. ^ Fedor Emelianenko Signs With Strikeforce. Five Ounces of Pain. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  18. ^ Dana White: “Fedor Emelianenko is a Fake, a Phony and a Farce”. 5thRound.com (2010-07-03). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  19. ^ Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography. Sherdog.com (1976-09-28). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  20. ^ Dante Hulligan Dana White Twitter on Fedor vs Werdum Fight : A Very Big SMILEY!! tekkenphilippines.com. June 27, 2010
  21. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  22. ^ Dana White Issues Lengthy Response to Fedor Emelianenko Loss. 5thRound.com (2011-02-13). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  23. ^ Dana White Twitter War: UFC President Destroys Fedor Fans After Loss To Silva – Bleacher Report. February 13, 2011
  24. ^ Will Someone Introduce Dana White to Fedor Emelianenko?. MMA Fighting. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  25. ^ Dana White Describes Meeting With Fedor Emelianenko For The First Time. FightLine.com (2010-11-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
  26. ^ [2][dead link‍]
  27. ^ "UFC boss fights clock Gung-ho White wishes there were more hours in day". ReviewJournal.com. 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  28. ^ "Dana White Tells Playboy About His Atheism, Steroid Use and Love for Donald Trump". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  29. ^ "Dana White honored as "Sportsman of the Year" while $2K awarded to The Caring Place. Dana White has been quoted as saying "June 26, 2010 is the happiest day of my life". MMAjunkie. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-08-08. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  30. ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
  31. ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 30, 2012). "Jan 30 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Gigantic year-end awards issue, best and worst in all categories plus UFC on FX 1, death of Savannah Jack, ratings, tons and tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA. ISSN 1083-9593.
  32. ^ Mrosko, Geno. (2009-03-19) UFCs Dana White accepts Patriot Award for humanitarian efforts to raise money for injured soldiers. MMAmania.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.

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