How Dana White Made Hundreds of Millions on the UFC Sale in 2016
When Endeavor bought UFC in 2016, UFC President Dana White made $300 million on the sale. Here's what we know about the deal.
Jul. 27 2021, Published 2:03 p.m. ET
Dana White is the president of the UFC.
Dana White has been a fixture in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for years. First, he was a manager to MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. Currently, White is a few years into a seven-year term as the president of the UFC. He isn't the primary owner of the organization.
Since 2016, the UFC has been owned by its parent company, Endeavor Group Holdings. Investors can own stock in UFC via Endeavor, which went public in April 2021. White was present for the IPO bell-ringing alongside other Endeavor leaders including CEO Ari Emanuel.
How to buy UFC stock
As a publicly traded entity under its parent company, you can own part of UFC by buying shares in Endeavor Group Holdings. Endeavor is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "EDR." So, once you have a brokerage account, you can buy stock in the company.
When the company debuted on the stock exchange this spring, the shares were priced at $24 apiece. Since then, the share prices have remained close to that price.
Endeavor also owns the Miss Universe organization, the William Morris talent agency, Professional Bull Riders, and IMG.
How much Dana White paid for UFC
White never purchased the UFC himself. Instead, he helped to orchestrate the purchase of the UFC organization by his friends Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta. In 2001, he helped convince the brothers, who owned Station Casinos, to buy the UFC for a $2 million price tag.
At the time of the 2016 sale of the UFC to Endeavor Group Holdings, White owned about 9 percent of the company’s shares. He reportedly sold off a portion of his holdings in the sale and saw his net worth increase. According to The New York Times, White came away about $300 million richer after the 2016 UFC sale.
Dana White’s role in UFC
White has been the president of the UFC organization for many years. He was a boxing fan and teacher before managing MMA fighters and becoming the head of the UFC.
White has been a champion for the sport of mixed martial arts throughout his career. He's often credited with transforming the UFC into a successful organization. As the New York Times reported last year, the sport was scorned by network television and other entities in the past due to its violent nature.
Over the years, White has helped the UFC organization thrive by focusing on advertising, returning to cable pay-per-view, and adding home DVD sales to bring the sport to a wider audience.
White signed a new seven-year contract in 2019 to keep him on as president of the UFC until at least 2026.
Mark Shapiro, the president of Endeavor, said that White is essential to the company’s success. “Unequivocally, we would never have bought the U.F.C. if Dana hadn’t agreed upfront to stick around,” according to The New York Times.
