"He made every call" - Dana White gives Vince McMahon full credit for Saudi Arabia; details "unbelievable" transition in business relationship

UFC is set to host its first-ever event in Saudi Arabia on March 2, 2024, and Dana White credits TKO group's chairman, Vince McMahon, for being instrumental in making the deal seamless.

UFC's parent company Endeavor and WWE formed the TKO group earlier this year with both the MMA and pro-wrestling promotions as its assets.

According to a report by Sports Business Journal (SBJ), with 51% ownership, Endeavour holds the controlling stake in the newly minted conglomerate, with WWE shareholders owning 49%.

Speaking with SBJ, the UFC CEO spoke highly of McMahon, claiming that he was an invaluable partner for the premier MMA promotion:

"It was Vince McMahon. It was 100% Vince McMahon. He made every call, he didn’t make one move without picking up the phone and calling me and getting me in the loop, and seeing if I was cool with this and that. And he went from being, oddly enough, I don’t know why, an enemy [of UFC], to being an unbelievable incredible partner. [X/t SBJ]"

WWE has been holding events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2014, and ever since 2019, the company has increased its presence in the region, hosting two events each year, apart from the pandemic-ridden 2020 and 2021.

Although the pro-wrestling promoter has become an invaluable asset for the UFC since the merger, it was not always so. White and McMahon have had their feuds in the past.

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Dana White faults Vince McMahon for nixing the UFC-NBC deal

While Dana White and Vince McMahon are partners, they were once on opposing ends of the sports entertainment world, being the heads of two multi-billion dollar franchises.

During an appearance on episode 82 of TRIGGERED, the 54-year-old reflected on how McMahon once nixed UFC's potential broadcasting deal with NBC.

According to Dana White, at the time, Vince McMahon had the final say on which among the various combat sports promotions gets to be on network television. So naturally, White and his business partner Lorenzo Fertitta flew out to meet the pro wrestling promoter.

However, McMahon vehemently denied the UFC passage to US network TV. During the podcast segment, White narrated the incident, saying:

[Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta told McMahon] 'We’re about to do this deal, we’re about to have fights on NBC and everything else, but you need to sign off on it'. Vince says, 'Yeah, I’m not going to do that.' We’re like, 'Why?' 'Eh, I’m just not interested in it. I don’t like the idea of you guys being on USA Network.' The whole deal blows up... That’s just one of ten times where Vince did it."