TKO President Mark Shapiro praises Dana White, says UFC CEO's "star-building" power rivaled only by legendary NBA commissioner David Stern

Mark Shapiro recently praised Dana White for his ability to constantly create new stars. The TKO president thinks very highly of the UFC CEO as he also made a comparison to legendary NBA commissioner David Stern.

The late great Stern was at the helm of the NBA during the league's surge in mainstream popularity, which saw the emergence of household names like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James become world-renowned stars. White has had a similar experience as he has been at the helm since 2001 and played a big role in the promotion's stars gaining mainstream attention.

While speaking at the JP Morgan Technology, Media and Communications Conference, Shapiro praised the UFC CEO for putting fighters in a position to succeed. He mentioned that White provides opportunities for fighters to become global stars, which results in a win-win scenario for all involved. He said:

"The only other person I can equate [Dana White] to in terms of star building is David Stern...He sees men and women. He sees these potential stars. He gets behind them. They have to win on their own but he puts them in a position if they win, to really explode. That works to our benefit."

Check out MMA Fighting's tweet regarding Shapiro's comments about White below:

Tweet regarding Shapiro's comments about White [Image courtesy: @MMAFighting - X]

---

Dana White praises Michael Jordan for competitiveness

Dana White recently heaped praise on Michael Jordan for the competitiveness he displayed throughout his career resulting in six NBA championships.

In 2020, fans saw another side of Jordan in his documentary 'The Last Dance', which showed how he approached every season, game, and practice. While speaking with Sage Steele, the UFC CEO mentioned that the basketball legend's competitiveness set him apart from others in the NBA. He said:

"I love the line in there [Jordan's documentary] where he's talking about, 'Everybody's talking about how mean I was and I was a bad guy. They all won championships too, didn't they?' Yeah, exactly...You're welcome. What are we here for? Why are we doing this?...I love that about Jordan."

Check out Dana White's comments about Michael Jordan below: