Dana White reveals he met with Vince McMahon before Endeavor purchased the WWE

By Cole Shelton - April 7, 2023

Dana White was well-aware that Endeavor was going to purchase the WWE.

Dana White, Vince McMahon

It was revealed this week that the parent company of the UFC purchased the WWE and the plan was to merge them into one sports property valued at over 20 billion. The news surprised many but White said he met with Vince McMahon to talk about the deal as he had questions about what it was like to be owned by Endeavor.

“Ari is one of those guys that lets you run your business. He lets you run your business, he lets you do what you do. I actually met with the McMahons the last time I was in New York to really talk about (it),” White said to Pat McAfee. “They wanted to know what it was like to be in business with him and everything else. Obviously, I couldn’t say anything but incredible, positive things about it. Ari is one of those guys, you run your business and if you need him, pick up the phone and call him and he can make anything happen.”

Although Endeavor has merged the two companies, Dana White said it will have no impact on the way the UFC is run. He says he still will run it how he has always been running it but rather thinks this is a great move for Ari and Endeavor to package together TV rights for UFC and WWE.

White also sounded off on all the fans who thought their merger would mean the UFC would become fake and scripted, too.

“Then you had the dummies online saying this is gonna be fake, too. We’re sanctioned by the Athletic Commissions in every state, you morons,” White concluded. “The government oversees us, they got the judges, they got the referees, they have all that stuff and you can gamble on this. Nothing is going to change, it’s exactly the same.”

Do you think Endeavor buying WWE will have any impact on the UFC?