Dana White appeared on the Season Premiere of 60 Minutes two weeks ago. The appearance, a puff piece by presenter Jon Wertheim, highlighted White’s position as the head honcho of the UFC.
Notably, the cameras followed White as he gambled at The Bellagio in Las Vegas. The crew watched as White lost over a million dollars and then proceeded to win back about $700,000.
The interview covers White’s relationship with President Donald Trump. As in past interviews, White’s loyalty to Trump is one of the reasons he feels strongly about him. But, the interview portrays White’s unbiased patriotism to the presidency unevenly. Specifically, while White gives an anecdote where President Barack Obama praised him, he does not state that he’d do the same entrances and UFC special on the sitting president.
White also goes on about Charlie Kirk and how people celebrate his death, while not mentioning the fact that the one that killed him reportedly thought he was too liberal.
The interview also glosses over fighter pay and the business of MMA. White discusses how so many people that write about it do not know what goes on behind the scenes. Perhaps that’s because the UFC has campaigned commissions such as Nevada to make combat sports fight purses a “trade secret” and not public information. And while Wertheim (a guy that wrote a book about MMA in its infancy) lightly pushed back on the notion that the public has access to salaries of professional athletes in other team sports, White deflected the inquiry. Of course, other professional sports such as the NFL and NBA have player unions that have collective bargaining agreements with the leagues. The UFC does not.
In my opinion, the piece sets up White for bigger things in the future. The deal with CBS-Paramount makes the 60 Minutes piece seem like a “getting to know you” rather than what you would usually get from 60 Minutes. But, one would not expect an expose on White, especially since the Network paid a boatload of money to be a partner. But, White is someone to watch in conservative politics. He is a friend of the current president, has money and influence which he could parlay into a run for president (if the US does that again).
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