By Joe Flint | Photography by Roger Kisby for WSJ
LAS VEGAS -- When asked what connects his two spheres of influence -- mixed martial arts and President Trump's MAGA base -- Ultimate Fighting Championship mogul Dana White has a simple answer:
"Testosterone."
White has built an empire off it.
Over more than two decades, he has taken the UFC from obscurity to an operation estimated to be worth more than $20 billion by parent TKO Group Holdings. Entertainment company Paramount agreed last year to pay $1.1 billion annually for the rights to UFC fights, the first of which will be on its Paramount+ streaming service on Saturday.
Along the way, White has become the face of the sport and counts Trump as a close friend. Trump has long been a UFC fan and is hosting a fight on the South Lawn of the White House in June.
White occupies a unique position in the zeitgeist. A sports kingpin, White is also part of a circle of Trump whisperers and influencers, such as podcasters Theo Von and Joe Rogan, who is also a UFC commentator. In White's office is a painting of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk that he acquired to give to his widow Erika Kirk.
White is ever the showman, and the room he often conducts business in at UFC's Las Vegas headquarters has a full bar and a pair of handguns gifted by Kid Rock in a glass case. White can often be found checking in on the UFC's "War Room," where executives gather to strategize.
He has few unuttered thoughts. During a wide-ranging and often profanity-laced conversation, White offered his take on his relationship with the president ("I would do anything for Trump"); the so-called manosphere, a loosely connected network of male podcasters and influencers ("some bulls -- thing that was created through Covid about people who went against what they were trying to push"); and his favorite TV show ("I'm addicted to `Landman'").
White credits Trump with putting UFC on the map in 2001 by hosting events at the Taj Mahal hotel and casino in Atlantic City a few years after then-Sen. John McCain had called the sport "human cockfighting." White typically speaks with the president once a month but not about anything heavy, he said.
"I don't talk politics with him," White said. "And the only time I talk business with him is fights."
Saturday's launch of the UFC's Paramount era -- part of a global-rights deal worth $7.7 billion over seven years -- is the latest test of strength for the brand White has built. The goal is to make the UFC bigger than ever by dropping the high-barrier-to-entry pay-per-view business model. "I love that the slate is wiped clean and we have to go in and prove ourselves all over again," White said.
Additionally, White is focusing attention on reinvigorating the sport of boxing, which he thinks is "broken and fragmented." His Zuffa Boxing, a partnership between TKO and Saudi Arabia's Sela entertainment company, plans to start signing top boxers as their contracts expire with other promoters.
White's separate venture Thrill Sports puts on "Power Slap," in which two contestants face off in a face-slap match. It has become popular on YouTube and last year generated $40 million in Ebitda, according to Thrill Sports CEO Frank Lamicella. White also joined the board of Facebook parent Meta last year.
White runs his empire from UFC's 15-acre campus that includes training facilities for fighters and an arena that can host both UFC and non-UFC events. UFC-related content is produced here as well and White is considering building a hotel on the site for fighters.
Born in Manchester, Conn., White was primarily raised by his mother, who was 19 when she had him. He became obsessed with fighting, often spending Saturdays watching boxing on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" with his uncles. He tried his hand at boxing but ended up moving into training and then managing fighters.
White persuaded a pair of high-school pals to buy the then-struggling UFC for $2 million with White running the business. A reality show called "The Ultimate Fighter," a subsequent rights deal on Fox and pay-per-view helped lift the UFC into a new stratosphere.
Ari Emanuel's WME-IMG bought the UFC for $4 billion in 2016, with White staying on. In 2023, Emanuel launched TKO, which houses UFC and WWE.
Getting close to Trump at a UFC event is a coup that can set tongues wagging, as was the case last April when Skydance Media founder David Ellison sat ringside with the president as he was seeking government approval to buy Paramount.
Like other sports-league leaders, White now has to worry about gambling encroaching on the integrity of UFC matches. Last year, UFC released a fighter who lost a match he was favored in that drew unusual betting action before the fight. White said UFC confronted the fighter and his lawyer prior to the match and were given reassurances that nothing fishy was going on. After the quick defeat, White said he quickly took action.
"Literally, as soon as the fight was over, I went back to my office and called the FBI," White said. "We will be the ones to take you down if you try to cheat and pull any bulls -- with gambling."
After Saturday's Paramount debut, White will turn his attention to the White House's highly-anticipated South Lawn cage match as part of Trump's plans to celebrate America's 250th birthday -- a spectacle that led France to reschedule the June G-7 conference.
The fight will be a logistical and technical challenge. UFC production chief Craig Borsari has already visited the White House five times to get the lay of the land and is in contact with the Secret Service.
In an interview, Borsari said hurdles include balancing out the sloping South Lawn. They also must contend with weight restrictions on the lawn, which will make it challenging to set up the ring and seat a thousand people. There is also a separate viewing party on the Ellipse that could draw as many as 50,000 people, he said.
White is trying not to let anything distract him.
"My focus is to find the best up and coming talent in the world, do the best matchmaking to put on the best fights possible, give people the best live event in-house and on TV," White said. "And as long as I don't mess those up, it's tough to blow it."
Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
Watch: Dana White on Trump and America
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2026 22:00 ET (03:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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