Dana White's startling revelation: Did Vince McMahon block Shane McMahon's UFC bid before the Fertitta brothers purchased the company in 2001?

Dana White has suggested that longtime WWE head honcho Vince McMahon's son, Shane McMahon, almost bought the UFC before the Fertitta brothers did. Founded in 1993, the UFC primarily functioned as a niche MMA organization and suffered considerable losses for several years.

In 2001, the then-UFC owners sold the UFC to Dana White's longtime friends, the Fertitta brothers, namely Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta.

In a recent interview with Big Boy TV, UFC boss Dana White recalled that the Fertitta brothers spent $2 million to purchase the UFC organization in 2001. White further highlighted that the Fertittas spent an additional $30 million in investments in the organization, adding that it was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show in 2005 that helped save the company.

White indicated that Shane McMahon was purportedly looking to purchase the UFC by procuring funds from his father, Vince McMahon. He added, however, that Vince McMahon wasn't interested in buying the UFC.

Moreover, he alluded to the fact that the Fertittas ended up acquiring the UFC organization, and with White as the UFC president, they turned the UFC into a multi-billion-dollar company. US-based media giant Endeavor acquired the UFC from the Fertitta brothers in 2016.

The 54-year-old further explained that the Fertittas' financial advisors cautioned them against buying the UFC in 2001. Referencing the time the McMahons almost bought the UFC, White said:

"Vince McMahon, from what I hear, his son Shane wanted to buy the UFC. Vince had the opportunity to buy it. And Vince said, 'Yeah. No. We're not gonna buy it.' Vince could have bought this thing and just put it on the shelf. Or Vince could have bought it and let his son [run it]."

Watch White discuss the topic at 27:50 in the video below:

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Dana White on his new job title in the UFC after the UFC-WWE merger

Elsewhere in his interview with Big Boy TV, longtime UFC president Dana White was asked about the reported change in his job title after the completion of the UFC-WWE merger.

UFC's parent company Endeavor has now officially acquired the world's top professional wrestling-based sports-entertainment organization, the WWE.

With the UFC-WWE merger under the TKO banner successfully completed, Endeavor put forth an announcement, confirming that Dana White has been promoted from the UFC president role and is now the UFC's CEO (Chief Executive Officer).

During his aforementioned interview, White was asked about his current job title in the UFC. He responded by asserting that he's still "UFC president." Emphasizing that he cares about "winning" and not about job titles, he stated:

"I don't give a sh** about titles. I don't care about titles, and where you sit on the organization chart, or any of that bullsh**. I don't care about that stuff." [*Comments at the 1:30-minute mark of the interview]