Dana White says he's in for long haul, ready to 'take combat sports to the next level'

LAS VEGAS – Dana White readily admits his job entails long hours and high stress, so with a few hundred million dollars in the bank, one could hardly blame him if he elected to ride off into the sunset. But the UFC president insists he has no such plans.

“What am I going to do?” White asked. “What am I going to do? People treat it like I hit the lottery. I had money before. It’s not like I hit the lottery and I’m just going to take off and disappear. I love this sport, and obviously the hardest part about the sale was leaving the Fertitta brothers. We’ve been together for 20 years in business together, and I went through a hard time. It was like a divorce. I went through that, I got through it, and I’m back on the ball and doing my thing.

“I love it. I’m not going anywhere, and we’re actually working on some crazy (expletive) right now, and I’m looking forward to it. We’ll blow everybody’s minds again next year.”

The UFC’s sale to WME-IMG was made public one year ago, and the time since has seen the company placed under a microscope, with every decision made subject to analysis for how it will impact the future health of the sport. Complicating matters for the new regime was a lack of big fights to book in the first half of 2017.

The sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, spent that time chasing after a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, while revenue-generating names such as Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar have seemingly ended their fighting days since WME-IMG took over.

But White, who pocketed a fortune with the UFC’s sale and could certainly walk away from the job, insists he’s unconcerned by what he sees as a natural ebb and flow of fight promotion.

“That’s the way this business works,” White explained. “When you’re coming off a year like we had last year, you just can’t keep rolling. First of all, all those guys fought, people end up injured, and we’ve still had a killer year even though the blockbuster fights weren’t there for us at the beginning of the year. The way that (expletive) goes is, as soon as everybody gets healthy again, the second half of your year is going to be killer.”

Sure enough, things do seem to be looking up. The lineup for this month’s UFC 214 is bordering on ridiculous, McGregor’s boxing match with Mayweather on Aug. 26 may prove to be the biggest fight of all-time, and White said “The Notorious” also wants to return to the octagon before year’s end.

Internally, the company is also celebrating the opening of an incredible new corporate campus for its employees and Performance Institute for its athletes.

White also pointed to the launch of his new “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series” as proof that the company is both invested in and optimistic about the future.

“It’s a great time,” White said. “When have I ever told you guys that big things were coming and big things didn’t come? We’re working on a lot of great stuff. Obviously we’re still doing all the things we’re doing. This is just the surface stuff that I’m telling you that we’re going out and looking for opportunities for these younger, up-and-coming guys where the fans will have the opportunity to see some of these rising stars on this new show, and ‘Lookin’ for a Fight.’ Not to mention the fact all the things that we’re doing that you don’t know about to cultivate talent.

“We’re working on things in Mexico and China. Mexico, China and the U.K. right now. We’re working on things in Russia, and we’re working on some even bigger (expletive), which we’ll probably be announcing next year. It’s all good. Everybody thinks I’m going somewhere or doing something. I’m not going anywhere man. We’re dug in like ticks over here and we are working on great (expletive). … We’re looking at how we take combat sports to the next level.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.