DANA WHITE insists he won’t be walking away from the UFC any time soon.
The veteran promoter has been at the helm of mixed martial arts’ premier promotion for over 22 years.
Dana White has been at the helm of the UFC ship for over 22 yearsNEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD
GETTYWhite has helped transform the UFC into a multi-billion-pound company[/caption]
GETTYThe newly-minted UFC CEO plans to stay with the promotion for several more years[/caption]
UFC has gone from a once struggling entity to a multi-billion-pound entity under the stewardship of White, who had a helping hand from his long-time pals Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.
White was this week promoted from UFC president to Chief Executive following the promotion’s blockbuster merger with the WWE.
But he plans to continue plotting the course for the company and treading new waters for several years to come.
“I’m 54 years old,” the American said on Tuesday night. “I never said my time was up when I was 40.
“When I look at some of these posts and everybody is talking about how old I f***ing look.
“I am f***ing old – that’s how this works. I’m older today than I f***ing was yesterday. That’s how this works.
“I feel like I’m f***ing 25 again. I’ve been taking my health seriously [and] I feel great.
“When you start talking about my time is up here, the last 20 years have gone by like this [clicks his finger and thumb].
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“How fast are the next 20 years gonna go? There is still a lot of work to do.
“Today was a really, really big day for the sport.”
The UFC and WWE merger – which was facilitated by the organisations’ parent company Endeavor and resulted in the formation of TKO Holdings – has seemingly given White even greater optimism for the promotion’s future.
“I’m excited about the future and what we’re going to do,” he said. “I always am, regardless.
“But after this merger, we’re so much more powerful than we were yesterday.”
White’s promotion to CEO is undoubtedly a massive one, but he’ll still be involved in the day-to-day operations and match-making.
GETTYDana White is excited at what the future holds following the UFC-WWE merger[/caption]
He insisted: “It’s a lateral move for me. I run everything that happens here.
“Everything that goes on here, I determine.
“Nothing has changed, it’s just three letters. But I’m the CEO and president of the UFC.
“But nothing changes. We’re just going to continue to kick ass like we do every single year.
“When you think about all the things that i wanna do before my time is up here, today made that a lot easier and a lot more doable.”
The UFC resumes action this weekend with a special Noche card in Las Vegas to commemorate Mexican Independence Day.