UFC president Dana White invited to address Oxford Union

Dana White in the UK

White is now the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and a multi-millionaire with over one million Twitter followers and adulation from the estimated 300 million fans who support the sport worldwide.

He has been invited to address the Oxford Union Society Debate Club on Oct 13, three days before the 11th UFC event takes place in the UK.

The setting for this one - UFC 120 - replete with a band of British mixed martial artists, including Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy, is the 02 Arena, London.

Other sports luminaries have also received invitations to speak. They include Diego Maradona, one which I attended, and like his appearances at the World Cup, the brilliance and charisma of the man was there in every pore, Graham Gooch and Geoffrey Boycott from cricket, five times Olympic gold medal rower Steve Redgrave and the eccentric boxer Chris Eubank.

Full Story (Telegraph)

Ultimately, this sport is a big hit

It was a big night for Big Cheese Dana White, whose background includes significant time in South Boston. The sport was only recently legalized in the Commonwealth, and this territory was regarded as almost the Last Frontier for UFC, which has soared in popularity, thanks to both White’s zeal and his marketing savvy. Clearly, he has struck a chord. His enterprise is estimated by Forbes to be worth in excess of $1 billion and White has become a very wealthy man.

Last night’s card represented the largest dollar gross of any event in TD Garden during this calendar year. Tickets were scaled from $75 to $600. For many in attendance, this was undoubtedly a dream scenario, seeing their beloved UFC up close and personal after watching all those matches on television.

Among those in attendance: Shaquille O’Neal. This was not his first time at the dance, however.

“I’ve been to about 30,’’ he confided.

Full Story