Love him or loathe him, Dana White remains one of the most important and influential characters in the entire sport of Mixed Martial Arts – but there will come a day when the CEO of the UFC ultimately walks away.
That day could come sooner than many fans realize after it was announced that Dana White had officially accepted a new job offer at Meta; but who could succeed him as the new head of the UFC promotion?
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Dana White joins Mark Zuckerberg on Meta's board of directors
Dana White has officially joined MMA superfan Mark Zuckerberg on the board of directors of Meta, the multinational technology company that operates Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus.
The announcement was made just a few hours ago, with White stating via a press release that he had “never been interested in joining a board of directors until I was offered to join Meta's board.
“I'm a big believer that social media and AI are the future… I'm very excited to join this incredible team and learn more about this company from the inside. There is nothing I love more than building brands, and I look forward to helping take Meta to the next level.”
White had previously called on Zuckerberg to help him implement an artificial intelligence tool to help with the official UFC rankings, with the tech giant being a long-time fan of both the sport and the promotion.
“We have tremendous opportunities ahead in AI, wearables and the future of social media and our board will help us realize our vision,” Zuckerberg said, adding that White has guided the UFC to become “one of the most valuable, fastest growing, and most popular sports companies in the world.
“I admired him as an entrepreneur and his ability to build such a beloved brand.”
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Dana White's UFC successor named by the legendary former champion
When Dana White eventually leaves the UFC, the promotion will need to be taken over by a reliable and well-connected CEO; and former two-time champion Daniel Cormier believes this will be Chief Executive Business Officer, Hunter Campbell.
“When was the last time you heard a director's name called out as much as Hunter Campbell?” Cormier asked via The Bohnfire.
“He has developed a way of dealing with the athletes and their managers so that fights that seem like they won't happen or can't happen come together.
“It's only been a few years since he took the lead in negotiations, and I can even go back to my last fight four years ago, he called – we had built a relationship over the last years of my career – he called two sentences: 'We're going to do this for DC,' and we were done, no negatives.”
With so many fighters and managers involved in combat and contract negotiations, Cormier noted that the entire process has been streamlined by Campbell in recent years.
“And then you build an appreciation for making the negotiations easier, because they can be difficult at times – but just listen to the number of fighters who tip their hat not only to Dana White but also to Hunter Campbell.
'A guy like him usually stays behind the scenes, but I bet anyone who joins one [UFC] The event now knows who that guy is.”
When asked if he feels like Campbell is 'ready' to take over as CEO of UFC, Cormier simply said, “Absolutely, that's exactly how he feels.”
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