FOX Network Deal Flips The Script on Dana White, MMA, and The UFC

Posted on | September 15, 2011 | 1 Comment

By: Rich Bergeron

The new UFC Fox Network deal is ready to take effect in November, and the sport of MMA is bound to get a popularity boost out of the extra exposure. Rolling out the welcome mat for their new partner, Fox News Channel featured Dana White on the morning show “Fox and Friends” soon after the ink dried on the contract. What makes White’s interview so intriguing this time around is that it marks a real shift in the way MMA used to be covered on Fox News.

Consider the following interview from 2006 featuring Dana White, Rich Franklin, And “No Spin” Bill O’Reilly:

Five years later–after millions were spent to make the FOX network the UFC’s new television programming hub–Fox News flipped the script on White and the UFC. They invited White to appear on Fox and Friends (congratulating him for joining the family in the intro), and it actually turned out to be a very professional interview. For the first time in a long while, White cuts out the F-bombs and harsh language and talks like an educated scholar instead of a drunken bum. He even maintains a bit of humility by admitting that the $44 million put into the company (by the Fertitta Brothers) is what really put the sport on the map. He lays out a speech that shows he knows the sport and his organization well, and he handles all the questions like a real expert:

The Fox partnership is a landmark moment for Zuffa and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. The above video shows that even before the first fight card televised on FOX the tide against the sport is turning. Dana White always aimed high in proclaiming constantly that he wanted the sport to contend with the NFL someday. Back when he first started spouting that philosophy, few people could have imagined he would be able to fulfill his promises. Today, White’s bravado doesn’t seem so ridiculous.

The MMA-themed movie “Warrior” hit box offices on September 9th, introducing even more folks to the sport of MMA. Though Dana White isn’t featured in the film, some of Zuffa’s best current and former fighters do make cameos. UFC is mentioned in the film, and much of the production model involved in the fictitious “Sparta” fight league in the movie is based on UFC shows. Combined with the incredible expansion of the UFC fan base that will no doubt be drummed up by the Fox deal, Hollywood’s tribute to MMA makes the sport a true growth industry these days.

Now if only White would clean up his act and quit cursing all his critics out, we might actually see MMA become a more family friendly sport. Maybe then MMA might actually compare to the NFL, although it seems hard to imagine ever having to buy an NFL game on Pay-Per-View.

Love him or hate him, Dana White at least got the sport on the same network that covers the National Football League. That’s a real milestone for “The Baldfather” and the UFC brass. Since it inevitably leads to more free UFC shows for the fans and a bigger spotlight for the fighters, everybody wins. Bill O’Reilly might not like it, but don’t bet on him coming out of the woodwork to say so at this point. When money talks, O’Reilly walks in this case. He’ll no doubt toe the company line and forget he ever had a bad thing to say about the sport.

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