Whether it’s firing off post-event bonuses or unveiling blockbuster PPVs, Dana White is always the face of the UFC. Over the years, his name has become inseparable from the promotion. Fans often assume the man calling the shots must also be the one signing the ownership papers. But how true is that? Does Dana White actually own the UFC, or is he just the figurehead running the show?
The truth is more layered than it seems. From humble beginnings, when the company was worth just $2 million, to today’s staggering $12 billion valuation, White has steered the UFC through every storm. But ownership, titles, and corporate power have shifted hands several times along the way. Let’s break it down step by step.
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Does Dana White own the UFC?
The Fertitta brothers decided to give up their UFC ownership to the global entertainment company WME-IMG in 2016. During the valuation of the company, it was revealed that Dana White owns 9% of the total ownership shares of the company. While the Fertitta brothers pocketed a massive $4.025 billion from their sale, White also earned an amount of $360M from his shares.
The new deal with ‘WME-IMG’ revealed he would continue to serve as the president of the promotion. Further, it also promised White an undisclosed share in the ownership of the promotion. However, ESPN reported that White will be holding on to his 9% ownership shares of the company as per the new deal as well.
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But in 2021, the WME-IMG was renamed to ‘Endeavor’, paid $1.7B more, and bought off the UFC entirely. Reports reveal that currently, Endeavor is the sole owner of the UFC. Hence, it may be said that White probably gave up his ownership shares during the 2021 deal when Endeavor bought off the UFC completely.
In 2023, things took a different turn as WWE and UFC merged under the banner of TKO Holdings, and White was promoted to the UFC’s Chief Executive Officer. Needless to say, the UFC head honcho pockets a hefty amount of money. His salary is $20 million per year as the UFC CEO. White holds a current net worth of an insane $500 million, and it definitely won’t be wrong to say that only a small part of it has come from his earnings outside the UFC.
Is Dana White the UFC President or CEO? Position & role
But don’t mistake ownership for influence. White’s journey inside the UFC has been just as dramatic as the fights he promotes. Back in 2001, when the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC, White secured a 10% stake. That later dropped to 9% when Flash Entertainment entered the picture in 2009.
Fast forward to 2016, when WME-IMG (now Endeavor) took control, and White walked away with about $360 million for his stake. Even after Endeavor’s full takeover in 2021, reports suggest White still retained that 9%. And then came 2023, when the UFC merged with WWE under TKO Group Holdings. Through all of this, White never lost his seat at the table.
He’s no longer just “President.” His official role is CEO of the UFC under TKO. His yearly paycheck? Roughly $20 million. Ownership may have shifted, but White’s influence has only grown stronger.
Current ownership stake of the UFC: TKO, Endeavour, & Fertitta brothers
TKO Holdings revealed that the company earned $1.7 billion in 2023. It was a massive hike of 47% from 2022. The MMA promotion’s success had, no doubt, a humongous role to play in that. In the same year, UFC amassed $1.3 billion, which was about a 13% rise from the previous year.
For the fourth quarter of the last financial year, the UFC totalled $282.8 million, which was around $11 million higher than the Q4 earnings of the previous year. Without a doubt, the fight promotion has continued to rise. Today, as mentioned earlier, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is worth about $12.3 billion.
Ari Emanuel sits at the top of this structure, wearing the hats of both Endeavor CEO and TKO Executive Chairman. He directs the strategy while White continues to run the day-to-day fight business. So, is Emanuel the “owner” of the UFC? In corporate terms, yes, but Dana White still drives the brand’s heartbeat.
To really understand ownership, though, we need to look back. The Fertitta brothers rescued the UFC from bankruptcy in 2001, buying it for just $2 million and forming Zuffa, LLC. Lorenzo Fertitta became CEO, Frank Fertitta III handled strategy, and White ran the frontlines. Together, they transformed a dying brand into a global force.
The UFC boss has frequently mentioned his long-standing friendship with former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta quite often in public speeches. Each time, his tone revealed that he had nothing but appreciation for the brothers.
In an appearance on the noted entrepreneur Grant Cardone’s YouTube show, White detailed the story from his meeting to becoming friends with the Fertittas. White said, “Lorenzo and I went to high school together. He was a rich kid and I was broke. It’s not like we were best friends, but we knew each other. Lorenzo was a super nice guy to everybody”.
But most UFC fans know that White dropped out of high school and therefore lost contact with the Fertittas. They even had Adam Corrigan as a common friend. It was at his wedding that White got to meet his old acquaintances, the Fertitta brothers, once more.
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In his appearance on Grant Cardone’s show, White recounted, “We went to Adam Corrigan’s wedding and we’ve been together ever since…. That was like 25 years ago. If we don’t go to that wedding, we definitely don’t bump into each other and we don’t see each other. We changed the f****ng world because we went to that wedding”.
So, how much of the UFC does Dana White own? Technically, not much. Endeavor, investment firms, and now TKO shareholders hold the financial power. Yet ownership isn’t everything. White has been the constant thread, from Boston streets to boardrooms, from near-bankruptcy to billion-dollar dominance. He may not hold the majority stake, but make no mistake, Dana White remains the soul of the UFC.