Dana White prepares for a reduced day-to-day UFC role

Is Chael Sonnen warming up in the bullpen to become the next face of the UFC?

With Dana White hinting at reduced UFC duties during comments he made at the UFC 313 post-fight press conference, now is the time to start asking some major questions about UFC’s future moving forward under the TKO corporate umbrella.

Despite the promotion claiming a $10 million dollar gate for UFC 313, there was a lot of turmoil regarding the event. Top star Alex Pereira lost. Undercard fights got canceled. The promotion is focusing on marketing Bryce Mitchell for UFC 314 in Miami. Everything feels so crass and cynical right now. A dirty calculation.

This week’s edition of The MMA Draw podcast on Substack takes a hard look at UFC’s broken matchmaking process.

“What is the motivation and purpose behind the matchmaking? You sign fighters to long-term contracts, but you don't build them up or protect them or put them in spots to be exciting. Is that intentional or is that just complete stupidity?”

The company right now has a bad habit of booking really lopsided mismatches or 50/50 fights that don’t seem to elevate either opponent.

“They end up booking 50/50 fights, and then they're surprised when the guy that they want to win loses. So you have to ask yourself, is it intentional or is it oblivious?”

The reason there is such a disconnect between Endeavor’s billionaires and fight fans is because they are wildly successful at implementing the Walmart business model blue print. Everything has a price. Everything has a data point. And now that process-oriented philosophy is substantively impacting the UFC product.

“We focus so much on the process of how these billionaires see the world of fight sport. It is so disconnected from the casual fan, and it's disconnected even now from the hardcore fan. And that is the most alarming thing we're seeing, is there is no longer a meeting of the minds.”

ESPN+ is streaming UFC 313 for free after a lot of angry and disgruntled fans actively voiced their frustration on social media about not being able to order or watch the event. TKO expressed their disgust towards ESPN in a leak to The New York Post.

Customer service is, well, let’s say lacking.

“If you're a fan, you can't even get a pay-per-view without ESPN Plus just crapping out on you. You can't even get a fight without spending hundreds of dollars. You can't even get good booking for the amount of money you spend. So you can't even get the experience you want at the price that you want. And instead, these billionaires are making these decisions for you. And they're all the most powerful governments in the world.”

We’ve seen other promoters like Donn Davis and the PFL exclusively pitch and market a process-oriented business plan to their investors. They’ve raised hundreds of millions of dollars and have little to show for it.

So, why is UFC able to get away with cramming a mediocre product down your throat? TKO is a triple monopoly. They marry other monopolies in business. It’s a giant government cartel.

They have to create an illusion of choice and competition. Then they need a cover story.

“So the question is, how did we get to this point and why? And I think UFC 313 very much was a reflection of the terrible work product that this company is producing. They don't know how to produce fights. They try to produce viral moments. They try to do celebrities. They try to slop it up. They try to spray perfume on the dog turd. But they don't actually understand what makes fights work. They give you a little bit of a moment. They give you a little bit of a shot of adrenaline with a back wheel kick. But they don't give you a consistent product or a consistent division in building up anything for the future.”

This week’s MMA Draw podcast explains how Endeavor wiped away the Fertitta ideology of branding MMA as the best heavyweight combat sport and anchoring it to Las Vegas as the Fight Capital of the world.

Ari Emanuel’s Hollywood machine took over and ripped that plan all up. They played the numbers game and decided to become a very rich political mercenary.

There is heavy pressure from big financial institutions on Mark Shapiro and TKO to double the current UFC media rights fees. Double the price for half the quality of the old fight product? What happens if Endeavor can’t execute this magic trick?

With nothing left to accomplish in UFC, Dana White can now safely transition into the world of boxing.

“And I think that's why Dana White is likely heading to the exits because he realizes this is not what he signed up for. This was not [why] he got into the business. He's conquered [MMA] now. He thinks he's bigger than the business. And a lot of these people who are in power think they are bigger than the business. Bigger than the fighters. Bigger than you as a customer, and this is the end result.”

This week’s podcast dives deep into the new TKO Boxing game plan with Dana White and Nick Khan. What is the evolution of their relationship with Turki Alalshikh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia going to look like?

How can Dana’s love for boxing help revitalize Las Vegas as a dominant player in combat sports once again?

UFC 313 Fight Week changed the landscape of combat sports but not in the way many of us expected. Where do you fit into the picture? What can fans do to voice their displeasure and channel their energy into creating some much-needed change?

Nate Wilcox and Zach Arnold have some advice for fans on how to look at the combat sports landscape for the rest of 2025. The MMA Draw on Substack is always ahead of the curve.