How Dana White's last-minute phone call saved UFC from "stale" HBO deal

Dana White has suggested that he was instrumental in getting the UFC out of a supposedly disadvantageous deal with American television network, HBO. Apparently, a phone call from White at the eleventh hour saved the UFC from it.

White has reigned as the UFC president since 2001 after his longtime friends, Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta, bought the UFC. The Fertitta brothers sold their majority stakes to current UFC owners, Endeavor, in 2016. White stayed on as president and was promoted to the CEO position in 2023.

On Fox News' 'One Nation' hosted by Brian Kilmeade, Dana White was recently asked where his fighting mentality and sense of production came from. He responded by asserting that as a fan, he knew what other fans wanted.

The 54-year-old recounted that the UFC once made a deal with HBO and would've had their fights broadcast on that network. However, he asserted that HBO attempted to change the UFC's production style, which he feels would've adversely affected it. White stated:

"HBO came in and started going, 'Yeah. We're going to have to turn this music down. This is gonna ...' I said, 'No. You guys are not running our production and telling us what to do.'"

Revisiting how he called Lorenzo Fertitta and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel ultimately got the UFC out of the HBO deal, White said:

"We had already signed the deal. We were done. So, I literally called Lorenzo and said, 'Yeah. We can't do this deal.' He's like, 'What do you mean we can't do this deal? The deal's done. We have a deal.' 'We've got to get out of this deal.' And Ari [Emanuel] got us out of the HBO deal."

The UFC's US broadcasting rights have long been held by ESPN. As for Kilmeade, he indicated that HBO was considered the fight broadcasting's gold standard and questioned whether White felt they were missing out on a great opportunity. White, who's also sounded off on other major networks like Showtime, replied by saying:

"No. I believe that if we had let HBO do what they wanted to do, it would've hurt us and hurt our brand. Yeah. It would've made it stale, and old, and like boxing was."

Regarding the Fertitta brothers trusting him, Dana White added:

"Yeah. Oh, hundred percent."

Elsewhere in the interview, White also recalled a potential deal with CBS falling apart. Moreover, he alluded to certain HBO analysts/commentators disrespecting fighters.

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When Dana White jibed at a famous HBO personality

The Dana White-led UFC has garnered widespread praise for being the first major global sporting organization to restart organizing events during the COVID-19 pandemic's initial phase. Nevertheless, certain sections of the socio-political realm criticized White and the UFC for purportedly increasing the risk of spreading the virus.

British-American comedian John Oliver, known for hosting 'Last Week Tonight' on HBO, was an incredibly vocal critic of White. Oliver referenced Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza's and his cornermen's positive COVID tests and lambasted White and the UFC for the same.

Dana White hit back by emphasizing that Oliver was misrepresenting by highlighting selective facts, as only three out of 1,100 tests came back positive. He also jested that he'd taken Oliver's suggestion of naming the organization 'UF-Sea,' trademarked it, and wouldn't give the comedian a cut either.