Dana White [center] with the cast of "The Ultimate Fighter 2"

Dana White
President, Zuffa LLC
 
Dana White has served as president and part-owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization since January 15, 2001 when Zuffa, LLC acquired its assets. In his role as President, he oversees all strategy, planning, operations and broad-scale marketing thrusts.

With his sports management experience and a keen knowledge of all combat sports (and specifically Mixed Martial Arts), White has been instrumental in leading the UFC brand to new heights during its first four years under new ownership.  During this period, the company has battled for audience recognition, financial predictability and state athletic commission accreditation as a sanctioned sport.
 
White’s efforts have proven very successful.

Most recently, over 10 million people watched all or part of The Ultimate Fighter first season finale -- the largest audience ever for a Mixed Martial Arts event on television. The two light-heavyweights fighting that night to win a 3-year UFC contract delivered one of the best fights in recent memory. So much so that White memorably declared on live national TV, “There is no loser in this fight!” Both Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar were awarded contracts that night. “UFC 52”, one week later at the MGM Grand, pitted The Ultimate Fighter coaches and legends Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. It is the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history.

And the momentum continues with at least two more seasons to come of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. Ultimate Fight Night, a series of live fight specials to air regularly on SpikeTV along with 26 one-hour episodes of an untitled series of great moments from the UFC vast library of fight footage, are also anxiously awaited by the fans.  The first Ultimate Fight Night airs August 6th.
 
The turning point to all of this came in September 2001. After a three -year hiatus UFC events returned to pay-per-view cable television with a new rule book in place and a commitment to provide safer conditions for combatants. Adoption of the unified rules by the most important and prestigious state sports commissions for combat sports having been completed, UFC bi-monthly pay-per-view events were now available on cable and satellite domestically and available to fans in 33 countries worldwide. Going forward, the challenge is now uniformity: to have every state and world commission adopt these same rules wherever an MMA event is produced.  (This initiative, which White believes will be his most lasting contribution, will help coalesce the sport and permit it to deliver on its full potential.)
 
Under White’s management the UFC brand continues to make great strides, with the most dynamic DVD businesses in the sports category, a newly launched music division and later this year, a UFC-themed movie will begin production.

White’s knowledge comes from both personal experience and participation. An avid boxer and mixed martial artist, he previously managed Mixed Martial Arts fighters. White, 36, was born in Manchester, Connecticut and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 1987. For two years, he managed a boxing program for inner-city children in Boston, Mass.
 
In 1992 he formed Dana White Enterprises, a sports management company, and he continues to operate three private gymnasiums in Las Vegas. His hobbies are Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and finding new talent for the Zuffa Music label.
 
He resides in Las Vegas with his wife Anne and two sons.