Dana White revealed that WWE founder Vince McMahon once blocked the Las Vegas-based fight company from securing a deal with NBC.
Though the pair run two very different enterprises, one focused on sports with the other emphasizing the entertainment side of things, Dana White and Vince McMahon have crossed paths on more than one occasion. During a recent appearance on Triggered, the UFC CEO revealed that the pro wrestling mogul once blocked the promotion from inking a deal with NBC who has had a long-standing relationship with the WWE.
“It’s been an interesting relationship with Vince McMahon. I never saw Vince as competition, but I’m thinking Vince, in his heyday, he saw everyone as competition,” Dana White said.
“He was one of those guys that would fucking stick it to me, just to do it. We were about to do a deal with NBC, and it ends up, we get to the one-yard line, and Vince has the final say of who can go on USA Network and who can’t if you’re a combat sport.”
“Lorenzo [Lorenzo Fertitta] and I flew out to Connecticut, sat down with him, we do all the small talk, ‘We’re doing a deal with NBC.’ Vince sits back like Vince sits. ‘We’re about to do this deal, we’re about to have fights on NBC and everything else, but you need to sign off on it.’” Vince says, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to do that.’ We’re like, ‘Why?’ ‘Eh, I’m just not interested in it. I don’t like the idea of you guys being on USA Network.’”
“The whole deal blows up. At the end of the day, it all worked out better, we ended up on FOX. That’s just one of ten times where Vince did it” (h/t WrestleTalk).
Dana White and Vince McMahon Bury the hatchet following historic merger
Of course, Dana White and Vince McMahon now lead their respective brands under the same banner after the UFC’s parent company, Endeavor, acquired the WWE and established a new publicly traded entity housing both brands dubbed TKO Holdings Group.
“Now, Vince has been an incredible partner. Literally keeps me in the loop with everything going on, making sure I’m cool with decisions that could affect the UFC.”
With the rivalry between the UFC and WWE seemingly over, the real question is, will we start to see the two billion-dollar empires crossover with one another at some point?