Dana White laid out his blueprint for Zuffa Boxing in a wide-ranging conversation with Rich Kleiman on a recent episode of Boardroom Talks, telling the host he intends to apply the same playbook to boxing that he used to build the UFC into a global property.
“My job now is to start from the ground up, rebuild the sport the way that I want to do it and the way that I think it should be done,” White told Kleiman. “And in five years, we’ll find out if I’m right or if I’m wrong.”
White, the UFC President and CEO, directed pointed criticism at boxing’s existing structure during the interview, citing corruption, the sanctioning bodies and what he described as a “going-out-of-business mentality” that he says has defined the sport for decades. He referenced his 2001 entry into mixed martial arts, when industry observers told him the UFC would not be able to compete with boxing, as a template for his current approach.
The White House Card
The Zuffa Boxing comments came against the backdrop of White’s June 14 UFC card on the south lawn of the White House. According to the Boardroom interview, the event will host 4,000 spectators on the lawn with an additional 85,000 on the ellipse, and more than 300,000 people applied for tickets.
White recounted to Kleiman that arenas declined to host UFC events in the organization’s early years because of concerns about the audience the sport drew. He framed the White House booking as a contrast to that period.
The Trump Relationship
Kleiman pressed White on his long-running relationship with President Donald Trump. White told the host that Trump attended a UFC card at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in 2001, when the promotion was struggling to secure venue deals, and stayed from the first bout to the last.
“Every good thing that ever happened to me in my career, he was always the first to reach out,” White said.
PowerSlap and Forward Planning
White also addressed PowerSlap, the slap-fighting promotion he launched in 2023. He told Kleiman the venture has generated more sponsorship revenue in its first two years than the UFC produced in its first decade and currently averages a billion social-media views per month. White said the idea originated when he was watching videos of slap competitions from Russia on Instagram.
Asked whether he reflects on what he has built, White said he does not, telling Kleiman that his focus moves to the next project before the current one concludes. He cited the UFC’s 2023 card at the Sphere in Las Vegas as an example, with the White House event as the follow-up.
The full Boardroom Talks episode with White is available through Boardroom.
