The UFC has been in existence for almost 33 years and for 25 of them, Dana White has been at the helm as the promotion’s president and now CEO.
In fact, it was 25 years ago today – on February 23, 2001 – when White made his first appearance on a UFC broadcast during UFC 30 from Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. That event, branded as “Battle on the Boardwalk,” was headlined by Tito Ortiz defending his light heavyweight championship with a slam knockout of Evan Tanner in 30 seconds.
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Earlier that night, White was interviewed by then-UFC executive/announcer James Werme and explained his vision for the UFC under new owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
“Thank you very much, James, I appreciate it,” White said after being introduced. “We’re very excited. We’ve got a sellout crowd here, 5,000 people, revved and ready to go.”
When asked what fans had to look forward to from the UFC, White responded: “Basically what we want to do is we want to make this the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts. We want to make it more fan friendly, we want to get the crowd involved in it, and we want to bring back the best fighters in the world.”
You can watch the clip from UFC 30 in the video below (via X):
That looks and sounds nothing like Dana White now, doesn’t it?
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Today, White is the 56-year-old outspoken face of multibillion-dollar company who carries himself with an I-don’t-give-a-f*ck-what-you-think mindset. But back then, he was just a 30-year-old with a receding hairline, who’d just been appointed the head of a combat sports promotion on the mend.
For better or worse, the UFC has come a long way since then under his leadership.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Relive Dana White’s first UFC broadcast interview
