UFC president Dana White is one of the richest men in sports today.
He had the vision and the fortitude to see the UFC through the dark ages, stay with it, and build it into the powerhouse it is today.
Now, the UFC boss is worth nearly a half a billion dollars and his recent hike in funds, is due in part thanks to his lightweight world champion Conor McGregor.
Express.co.uk breaks it down:
White was installed as the promotion’s president in January 2001 by his childhood friends, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who acquired the company from the Semaphore Entertainment Group.
The road to success for mixed martial arts premier promotion was far from an easy one.
In 2005, the Fertitta brothers came close to cutting their losses with their latest business venture after failing to see any returns from their investment, which saw them stump up £7.1m ($10m) of their own money to pay for the production costs for season one of the Ultimate Fighter.
That decision paid dividends as the show became a huge hit following the season finale, which saw Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar take part in arguably the most memorable fight in UFC history.
White was installed as the promotion’s president in January 2001 by his childhood friends, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who acquired the company from the Semaphore Entertainment Group.
The road to success for mixed martial arts premier promotion was far from an easy one.
In 2005, the Fertitta brothers came close to cutting their losses with their latest business venture after failing to see any returns from their investment, which saw them stump up £7.1m ($10m) of their own money to pay for the production costs for season one of the Ultimate Fighter.
That decision paid dividends as the show became a huge hit following the season finale, which saw Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar take part in arguably the most memorable fight in UFC history.
The UFC went from strength to strength after that night at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, which will live long in the memory of MMA fans across the world.
Eleven years after the Griffin vs Bonnar, the Fertitta brothers sold their passion project to WME-IMG for a jaw-dropping £3.1bn ($4bn), a two hundred thousand per cent return on their initial £1.44m ($2m) investment.
As the owner of nine per cent of Zuffa, the company set up by the Fertitta brothers to own and manage the UFC, White received a hefty chunk of change, £260,000,000 ($360,000,000) to be exact.
Part of WME-IMG’s acquisition of the UFC saw White pen a new five-year deal with the promotion.
That deal will see the Boston native receive £14.4m ($20m) a year, plus nine per cent of the UFC’s yearly profits.
Factoring in White’s projected earnings with the payday he received in July 2016, the UFC chief is worth a staggering £332,000,000. ($413,583,476.59)
That figure will no doubt rise exponentially at the end of his five-year contract.
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor played a huge part in White’s net worth sky-rocketing.
Earlier this week, White discussed the possibility of a fight which would further increase his net worth, a rematch between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
He said: “The only way making that fight again makes any sense is if he comes over to the Octagon,” White said.
“We went over and boxed him, the UFC and Conor McGregor. And now it’s time for him to reciprocate and come fight in the Octagon.”
