Success of the UFC 1

The Ultimate Fighting Championship Success Under Dana White’s Leadership

Martell Harris

Bellevue University
Success of the UFC 2

Abstract

Organizations have insignificant control over their environment, but one essential

element that they do have control over is the leaders empowered within the organization and the

leadership styles that fuel the company’s success. Leadership behaviors and styles within a

company can be adjusted to create structure while successfully running the company. These

adjustments are made to stay current with market demands so the company can maintain the

constant changes within the economy. The overall success of a company comes from leadership,

whether it is positive or negative and what impact it has on the organizations everyday

operations. In this Paper, I will be discussing how The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

organization’s old leadership destroyed the company and how the new leader was able to turn

everything around for the company’s current success.

Success of the UFC 3

Rorion Gracie, Art Davie and Robert Meyrowitz are responsible for creating the UFC.

Royce Gracie was one of the first fighters to compete in UFC and he left the MMA world

speechless at the first edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 12,

1993. Royce dominated every opponent he faced on this historic night. Royce Gracie was

victorious in winning the tournament, beating three men in one night. Although the UFC had

early success giving people excitement viewing a sport they never experienced before, obstacles

quickly escalated for the organization causing serious problems. The UFC’s reputation was

introduced to the world as a no holds bars, last man standing sports competition with no clear

rules or regulations that protected the fighters. Questions of the sports safety created uneasy

feelings with cable companies, causing them to cut ties with the UFC.

Without airtime, UFC ratings dropped, which made it hard for the organization to

develop a strong following. In 2002 the UFC was on the edge of bankruptcy. Eventually the

financial problems weighed heavy on management and forced them to consider selling the

company before the the debt amassed the profit. According to Forbes, Dana White commented “I

ended up finding that out, that they’re in trouble and they’re probably going to go out of

business,” White says. “And I’d been to a UFC event, and I was looking around and thinking,

‘Imagine if they did this, and imagine if they did that. This thing could actually be really big.’ So

I called the Fertittas and I said, ‘I think the UFC’s in trouble. And I think we can buy it. I think

we should do this.” (Boice, 2014). Frank Fertitta, Dana White and Lorenzo Feritta later

purchased the company for two million dollars in 2001.

Success of the UFC 4

At the top of the UFCs organization is President and part owner Dana White. The other

partners of the UFC are brothers Frank Fertitta and Lorenzo Feritta. The Feritta brothers played a

significant financial role in helping rebuild the UFC. These three men are responsible for

breathing life back into a sport that was on life support. Their focus was to clean up a bad

reputation that once over shadowed the possibilities of the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts. The

three men joined together to make mixed Martial Arts the worlds most popular sport in the

United States and Internationally.

When it comes to the brand of the UFC, a person can’t mention UFC with out saying

Dana White. Dana White is the face of the company. There is not a single event hosted by the

UFC where Dana White is not right in the middle of all the action. Dana White seems to be

interviewed, quoted, or mentioned in MMA and sports press conferences on a consistent basis.

Although Mr. White is UFC’s President and co-owner, he also makes it his priority to be apart of

the company’s product and reputation.

Dana White was born on July 28, 1969 in Manchester Connecticut. According to Forbes,

when Dana White was 19 years of age he quit his job working for a hotel valet service. Dana

went on record to say “I’m standing in the lobby one day, and just thinking, ‘What the hell am I

doing here? I make cash every day, plus get a check at the end of the week, got great benefits but

I’m not happy here,” White says. ”So I literally walked out the front door, told my buddy I was

quitting. Of course he told me I was nuts and (asked me), ‘What are you going to do?’ And I

said, ‘I’m gonna get into the fight business.’ And that’s it. That’s what I did.” (Boice, 2014).
Success of the UFC 5

Over the years, Dana got heavily involved into the sport of boxing. He participated from

every position of boxing, even boxing himself. Dana trained and managed fighters. He also

refereed matches, and managed multiple gyms while trying to make a name for himself. Business

was looking promising until Dana’s life was threatened with death and embezzlement by the

Boston Mob. According to Forbes, White was visited by guys who informed Dana that he owed

them $2,500 for reasons that were unknown. Dana stated “That thing went down where they

were trying to get money from me, and I got the phone call one day, and they were basically like,

‘You’ve got until Sunday to pay us’. I left everything I had,” (Boice, 2014).

White relocated to Las Vegas where he reacquainted with an old friend Lorenzo

Feritta. Lorenzo and Frank Feritta were upcoming entrepreneurs running the Vegas casinos.

January 2001, Dana, Frank and Lorenzo Feritta formed partner company called Zuffa, LLC.

Once they created the company they purchased the UFC. The UFC was able to secure proper

sanctioning for fights in Nevada and they used Las Vegas as the backyard for something that

would later become a multibillion dollar empire.

Gary Yukl defines leadership as “the process of influencing others to understand and

agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and

collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives” (Yukl, 2013). In Dana’s process to rebuild the

UFC brand, Dana White presented a plan to his friend that would later become his business

partner showing that he had a vision for the UFC and they could be responsible for one of the

biggest turnarounds in sports history. Dana White’s dreams and vision is what sparked the
Success of the UFC 6

success of the UFC.

Based off my research, I have come to the conclusion that Dana White’s leadership styles

consist of a mixture between Visionary, Charismatic and Servant Leadership.

Due to the UFC’s early reputation under the first owners, cable companies wouldn't

televise the fights until they were more safe for viewers to watch. Dana understood that for his

vision to work he had to implement new rules that made the combat sport safer to regain cable

sponsors. In an Ottawa Citizen article, White says he went to work, improving the safety of the

sport by introducing rules that minimized injury, such as no hitting the back of a person’s head,

and implementing guidelines for referees on when to get involved in a combat to prevent more

serious injury. An insurance plan has been established for the fighters to ensure they are cared

for after an injury (Pilieci, 2014). According to our textbook, Yukl mentioned, “In order for a

business to be successful, competitive strategy may require consistent change in people, work

roles, organization structure, and technology” (Yukl, 2013).

According to Gary Yukl, charismatic leadership behaviors that explain how a charismatic

leader influences the attitudes and behavior of followers includes articulating an appealing

vision, using strong, expressive forms of communication, taking person risks and making self

sacrifices, communicating high expectations, expressing optimism and confidence in followers,

modeling behaviors consistent with vision, managing followers impression of leader, building

identification with group or organization, and empowering followers (Yukl, 2006)

Success of the UFC 7

Dana White’s style of leadership, which he interacts with fighters, their teams, and the

fans is also a key element of the success in the UFC. Fans seem to enjoy Dana Whites presence,

rather in person or on television. Dana white expresses passionate excitement when he pairs

fighters to compete and he adds to the entertainment value of the UFC. According to Robert K.

Greenleaf, a Servant leader is someone that is a servant first and has the natural feeling that one

wants to serve first. (Wren, 1995). In the Ottawa Citizen article, White says he has learned that

fan loyalty is number one when building a brand, which is why the UFC goes above and beyond

to make fan experiences at its live events something for people to brag about, by providing

access to the stars and ensuring great matches (Pilieci, 2014). Dana Whites cares so much about

fan involvement that he invented The Ultimate Fighter Television show so that fans can share

fighters real experience and have the chance to connect with the fighter’s real dreams.

Gary Yukl states “Despite the potential benefits from servant leadership, there may also

be some negative consequences for an organization when the welfare of the followers is

considered more important then financial performance (Yukl, 2013) I think that in the UFC’s

case or any sport, the athletes become irrelevant without the fans support. Dana White seems to

understand that if the fan following of the sport is not strong, the sport has no life, and if the

sport has no life then everyone is out of a job.

In the Ottawa Citizen article Dana stated “I always say, we’re the bells and whistles,”

indicating the UFC organization. “We put on these press conferences and we do shows on social

media and TV, and we tell people why they’re here to build up the hype. But, once they step into
Success of the UFC 8

that octagon we lose all control. It’s up to the fighters” (Pilieci, 2014). Yukl also states “Personal

power is the capacity to influence that comes from being viewed as knowledgeable and likable

by followers. It is power that derives from the interpersonal relationships that leaders develop

with followers” (Yukl, 2006).

Another statement by Dana White in the Ottawa Citizen article, White says the athletes

that the UFC has been able to work with over the years are ‘the glue’ that allows the UFC to

appeal to fans. White also stated that most people don’t realize many UFC fighters are highly

educated and articulate (Pilieci, 2014). White says he realized that by using the diverse

background of fighters at his disposal, he could tell a story leading into each fight and sell the

sport. According to J. Thomas Wren (1995) “leadership is a complex phenomenon, involving the

constant interaction of three essential elements: the leader, the follower, and the surrounding

situation or context. An effective leader must know something about each and how they

interact.”

Just like in any sport, people are more interested in who puts on an exciting performance

and that’s who the fans come back to see. Dana stated to MMA Fighting.com "Be the guy who

stands out,” "You're the guy people want to see again. You're the guy people want to spend

money for. You're the guy people buy tickets, PPV, people stay home on Saturday nights. ‘We

don't get paid enough money.' No, you didn't get paid enough. You know why you didn't get paid

enough? Cause you didn't fucking deserve it.” (Doyle, 2013).

Success of the UFC 9

Dana White is a firm believer in reward power. According to Business insider, reward

power is where a person motivates others by offering raises, promotions, and awards. (Giang.

2013) Dana rewards his fighters based off performance. If they fight well, win and entertain the

fans, they will be rewarded. According to MMA Fighting, when asked about the UFC's pay

structure, Dana White had this to say "The guys who are complaining about this are the guys that

don't matter,” he continued to state "That might sound fucking mean and harsh and (mocking

tone of voice) ‘why should somebody not matter, everybody matters.' We're getting to where we

are in a society now where, everyone wins a trophy. No, everyone doesn't win a fucking trophy.

The guys who stand out and the guys who make it exciting, the guys who raise to the top are the

guys who deserve the money.” (Doyle, 2013). White’s philosophy follows a bonus system to

reward fighters. There is a Fight of the Night, Submission of the Night and Knockout of the

Night bonuses. White measures a fighter’s worth to the UFC by these categories.

According to Forbes, the UFC is the undisputed champion of the MMA world, with

fighters in 175 countries, over 100 UFC training facilities worldwide and a television presence

that has reached over a billion households. The UFC has spread widely across the world in the

past twenty years. Although the UFC has grown popular in the United Sates, they now have

regular events in Canada, the UK, Asia, and everywhere TV exists (Boice, 2014). I feel it is safe

to say that the UFC is gaining popularity every day. According to Ottawa Citizen article Dana

White states “If you look at us. Vegas doesn’t have an NFL team, a hockey team, a basketball

team, they have no professional sports franchises. We have become Las Vegas’s home team.

That community looks at us as its own and it’s unbelievable the support we’ve had,” (Pilieci,

2014). Dana White has done the impossible with the UFC by revamping the meaning of the
Success of the UFC 10

Martial Arts sports. Can the UFC be a problem free organization? Should Dana make changes to

the leadership structure of the UFC? No, would be my response. In my opinion, Dana White has

shown the ability to create a prosperous working culture that is innovative and ground breaking

in sporting industry. Gary Yukl states “Most researchers evaluate leadership effectiveness in

terms of the consequences of influence on a single individual, a team or group, or an

organization (Yukl, 2013).” Dana’s leadership style effect on the UFC is nothing like I’ve ever

seen before. Maybe the MLB, NBA, and NFL owners should all take notes from Dana white.

Mr. White seems to have a recipe for success.

Success of the UFC 11

References:

1. Boice, D. (2014, April 3). Forbes/Entreprenuers. Retrieved November 12, 2015, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dannyboice/2014/04/03/boxer-to-entrepreneur-how-dana-
white-became-the-champ-of-mixed-martial-arts/

2. Doyle, D. (2013, July 4). Dana White rants on UFC fighter pay. Retrieved November 14,
2015, from www.mmafighting.com website:
http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/7/4/4494300/dana-white-rants-on-ufc-fighter-pay-
everyone-doesnt-win-a-f-trophy

3. Giang, V. (2013, July 13). The 7 Types Of Power That Shape The Workplace. Retrieved
November 11, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/ website:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-types-of-power-that-shape-the-workplace-2013-7

4. Pilieci, V. (2014, July 9). Dana White and UFC: Building a brand, punch by punch.
Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://www.ottawacitizen.com website:
http://ottawacitizen.com/business/local-business/dana-white-and-ufc-building-a-brand-
punch-by-punch

5. The UFC. (n.d.). Retrieved from UFC.com website: http://www.ufc.com/discover/ufc

6. Wren, J. T. (1995). Leader's Companion. New York, NY: The Free Press.

7. Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.

8. Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-
Prentice Hall.