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| (Photo by MMAjunki.com) |
So, this is the last segment of our Dana White Mini-Series.
We have received a lot of positive feedback and we appreciate it. This subject
is so interesting and we would love to hear what you have to say about it in
the comments section.
In the world of MMA many people discuss the future when it
comes to fights, TV deals and PPV numbers. But what is never written about is
the future of MMA focused solely on Dana White. Dana White literally holds the
current state of MMA in the palm of his hand. Yes, One FC is building some
promise out in Asia and we have Bellator in America but let’s be honest, the
UFC dictates where MMA is going. The UFC lays the path and other promotions try
their best to follow in those giant footsteps.
Dana White, like I stated in my other two articles in this
mini-series, does more for his company than most other presidents. He rarely
delegates responsibilities and has a major influence on everything from sponsors and public relations, to the TUF show, fighter relations and putting together
events. So, when a man has that much influence in the top promotion in the
world, then he truly dictates where the whole sport of MMA is going.
Dana, does everything and does
most of it very well. But what will happen when he retires? Dana is only 43 years
old but his job is demanding. Now is it a scary thought for some of you to
think of Dana retiring and disappearing from the UFC? It is for me. Think of
everything that makes Dana unique, which is an endless list of attributes, being gone and a different set of attributes, which will be owned by the new president, taking their place.
Will the new president go to the locker room after a fight and give the fighter
their win bonus even though they lost? Will he be a man that can be both a
loving uncle and yet intimidating enough to demand respect? Dana White is such
a unique and distinct personality the odds are that no matter who replaces him
they will not be someone we will want to watch on TV and hear his every word.
Will he have the great rapport with the fighters and fans that Dana does?
Probably not because Dana is the only president of a billion dollar company
that goes out into -50°F weather outside at 2:00am to go take pictures and sign
autographs for some crazy fans (yours truly was present). Even if the new
president does these things will it feel natural and authentic or will it feel
forced and fake to try and fill the void that Dana left behind? I am not sure
and we will have to wait to find out but let’s hope that when the time comes
the right suitor is chosen that can be his own man but still captivating in his
own right. When it comes to a replacement Dana and the Fertittas need to try
and find someone better. That should always be the goal. It might be near
impossible but when the time comes they will have to put in maximum effort.
They cannot hire someone that flatlines the company. In today’s financial
crisis you need someone that continues growth. Now, the economy might be more
stable by then but everything still applies. Dana has put himself in a situation
where he is the face of the UFC. They have to decide if his replacement will be
in the same role or allow the fighters to fully take that spotlight. They need
to decide if the replacement will be more like Scott Coker for Strikeforce who
is mainly on the sidelines or like Dana right in the heat of things.
Now, the part that Dana needs to
start the second the “retirement tingle” starts to itch the back of his brain
is getting his company ready for a major transition. Dana needs to plan for a
few things: finances, delegation and expansion.
When it comes to finances I would
say he would need to do some alterations when it comes to the fighters. First
off, get rid of the ridiculous $35,000 tax they charge any company trying to
sponsor their fighters. Open the doors for more companies to get involved. Dana
also needs to work on getting some other blue-chip sponsors for the UFC. They
have Budweiser, Edge shave gel and the latest video games and movies. But he
needs to step it up before he leaves. They need to be closer to NFL status than
they are currently. There is so much more I could list here (new TV show,
tournaments ect.) to help bring in revenue but I won’t go there.
Delegation will be a key aspect in
his departure. Dana is too involved at this point and I think as he ages and
his body demands more rest and less traveling this will be a more natural
transition. However, when the time comes he might even need to restructure
parts of the company. Dana needs to start building towards having his job spread
out into multiple other jobs. This is common when big transitions like a new
employee in a major role start a job. Sometimes they restructure that open role
into many other roles before hiring. This is an idea they should start throwing
around now. One example is having a guy in charge of the team that does TUF or
whatever TV show they have going at that time. They have something similar to
that now but Dana is still very involved at this point. When he leaves he must
make sure that everything is settled and all of the duties are spread out to a
reasonable extent.
Expansion is something that will
never truly stop. However, Dana needs to keep cracking away at this. Lorenzo
Fertitta (Co-owner and CEO of Zuffa) has been put in charge of making this
happen at a faster pace. But by the time Dana retires he will need to have
stars in most major countries; which means Joe Silva and Sean Shelby (UFC
matchmakers) needs to step it up. Now, some of you might not know this but the
UFC is taking a page out of the book of Shane McMahon; the son of WWE CEO Vince
McMahon. PPV buy rates started to plummet in the mid 2000’s in America for the
WWE. So, Shane set out and started a global expansion plan. It worked wonders.
He had wrestlers representing almost every major market in the world. It
literally saved the WWE. The UFC has been trying to do the same with TUF
Brazil, TUF UK vs. America and, the most recent, Australia vs.UK. They also
promote Cain Velasquez as a Mexican-American fighter, Michael Bisping (the best
fighter from the UK), Georges St. Pierre from Canada, the many fighters from
Japan and all of the amazing talent from Brazil. They are trying very hard to
push these fighters as representatives of their homelands. But it is so much
harder to do that with the UFC than the WWE. The WWE is fake and they can write
any story and make anyone they want champion. But the UFC has to have the
ability to find the best fighters from these areas across the world and hope
they succeed. Expansion needs to be bigger and more secure than it is now.
No matter what the outcome of all
of this will be, it will be an interesting time. Possibly a scary time. A time
of absolute uncertainty for many. But if Dana and the Fertittas handle this
transition carefully it could work out just fine. But more than anything,
Dana’s presence will be missed.
Let us know in the comments what
you think about this subject. What do you think some of the changes will be
when Dana retires?
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