Could Dana White’s position as the UFC CEO be in jeopardy due to the ongoing antitrust lawsuit levied against the promotion?
White has been an undeniably integral part of the promotion’s growth that ultimately led to the UFC being sold to WME (now Endeavor) for an astonishing $4 billion in 2016. However, ahead of WME’s purchase from Zuffa, there was a series of emails from WME executive Brent Richard who voiced concerns about White and asked for a plan that would eventually remove him from his position.
“Need to develop a retention, transition, and ultimately replacement plan for Dana,” Richard wrote.
Chief among his concerns was a pending lawsuit brought against White and the UFC by former fighters, including Cung Le, Nate Quarry, Jon Fitch, and 1,200 others.
“UFC controls the best fighters, on staggered contracts, and has the revenue model providing ability to pay fighters the most in the market, by far,” Richard wrote in his presentation.
Fighters in the process of suing the UFC believe the business practices noted by Richard as a benefit of being in business with the promotion are the root of an anti-competitive scheme to cut out competitors and reduce fighter pay. Of course, White has defended fighter pay on multiple occasions, despite the fact that the UFC’s revenue share with its athletes is a lowly 13-15% compared to other major league sports entities such as the NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL whose revenue shares regularly hover around the 50% range.
The UFC is facing a class action lawsuit and the documents give us insight into how much the fighters make.
UFC Revenue Split Vs. Other Leagues
NBA: 51%
NHL: 50%
NFL: 48%
MLB: 45%
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UFC: 13% to 14.5%Here’s what you need to know 👇
(h/t @BloodyElbow) pic.twitter.com/6J4nnRWXT6
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) November 15, 2023
As fighters continue to struggle in their fight for a bigger piece of the pie, the UFC has continued to thrive with record-breaking revenues. Earlier this year, Endeavor grew its business with the acquisition of World Wrestling Entertainment. A recent report has also suggested that the company is now looking to buy its way into the boxing business with the purchase of Top Rank, though Dana White has categorically denied the report.
White signed a new seven-year deal with the UFC in 2019 but with the promotion scheduled to go to trial in April and potentially on the hook for more than $1 billion in damages, his days with the UFC could be numbered.
CTE Was Another Concern Noted by WME Exec Ahead of Its UFC Buyout
Another big concern for WME ahead of their acquisition of the UFC was injuries that led to CTE or even death.
Dana White has often touted the sport as being significantly safer than boxing, claiming that MMA is “the safest sport in the world when you know you’ve got two healthy athletes stepping into the Octagon to compete against one another.”
Since then, ex-UFC fighter Gary Goodridge claims a doctor had diagnosed him with CTE, though the disease can’t be definitively found until a person has passed away. CTE has also been found in the brain of deceased former UFC competitor Tim Hague. Veterans of the sport including Renato Sobral and Spencer Fisher have voiced their struggles with trauma they believe to be linked to CTE.
In light of those revelations, White has taken a more appropriate approach, acknowledging that brain trauma is something that simply comes with the territory of being a professional fighter.
“This is a contact sport and anybody who’s done this younger, myself included, is dealing with brain issues,” White said. “It’s part of the gig.”
However, Dana White has since doubled back in defense of his latest pet project, Power Slap. White has touted pre-bout medical screening and officials’ oversight during the matches as a way to reduce the potential danger of injury.
Fans, professional fighters, and more importantly, medical experts have all expressed their concerns regarding the well-being of slapfight participants.
For a detailed breakdown of the pending lawsuit against the UFC, check out the below video:
Transcription by MMA Fighting
