Dana White spent many of his early years residing in Ware, Massachusetts.
35 Facts About Dana White
2.
Dana White's mother was a nurse, and the family moved to Las Vegas when Dana White was in third grade, as Vegas offered higher wages for nurses.
3.
Dana White attended Bishop Gorman High School, where he first met Lorenzo Fertitta, although they did not become close friends until years later.
4.
Dana White said he disliked school and "got kicked out of Gorman twice".
5.
Dana White spent his senior year of high school in Maine.
6.
Dana White had begun boxing at age 17, and befriended former Golden Gloves champion Peter Welch.
7.
In Las Vegas, Dana White continued running boxercise gyms and began training jiu-jitsu under John Lewis, alongside Lorenzo Fertitta and his older brother Frank Fertitta III.
8.
When Dana White learned that Meyrowitz was looking to sell the UFC, he contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, to ask if he would be interested in acquiring the company.
9.
Dana White said that when he and the Fertittas acquired the UFC, all they received was the brand name "UFC" and an old octagon.
10.
Dana White continued in his role as president, and was given a stake in the new business.
11.
On March 18,2019, Dana White signed a new, seven-year contract to remain president of the UFC, as the UFC signed a deal with ESPN.
12.
Dana White will continue to serve as UFC president as part of the new company's management team.
13.
Dana White has since backpedaled on these plans, stating in 2022 that boxing promotion is "a broken business that is an absolute nightmare to try to fix".
14.
Dana White is the owner of Power Slap, a slap fighting competition that debuted in January 2023 and was previously televised on TBS.
15.
Dana White met his wife Anne when they were in the eighth grade and they married in 1996.
16.
Dana White bought a mansion in Pine Island Court, Las Vegas in 2006 from Frank Fertitta III for $1.95 million.
17.
Dana White bought three other mansions in the same area from October 2016 to June 2017 for a combined total of around $6.2 million.
18.
Dana White was raised as a Catholic, but now considers himself to be an atheist.
19.
Dana White is a fan of the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.
20.
Dana White has a hand-signed guitar by all three members of the Beastie Boys in his office, alongside a copy of the Beastie Boys Book on the desk.
21.
Dana White is a big fan of the New England Patriots, he admits in an interview with the BBC he had Patriots shirts in his closet as a kid and Patriots star Tom Brady is his celebrity man crush.
22.
Dana White spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where he endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump.
23.
Dana White said that Trump helped the UFC at its beginnings, allowing the UFC to host its first event under Zuffa ownership at the Trump Taj Mahal when other venues refused to host the UFC.
24.
In February 2020, Dana White donated $1 million to America First Action, a super political action committee that supported Trump's re-election.
25.
The stripper alleged Dana White had been seeing her for months during his marriage.
26.
The stripper's live-in boyfriend then tried to extort money from Dana White, which resulted in a criminal case against her boyfriend.
27.
In Nevada, on April 3,2020, a civil suit against Dana White was filed, claiming he offered the boyfriend money to persuade him to plead guilty, which Dana White denied.
28.
In May 2012, Dana White revealed that he had been diagnosed with Meniere's disease, a neurological disorder.
29.
The UFC on Fuel TV 3: Korean Zombie vs Poirier event was to be the first he had missed in 11 years with Dana White staying home, adhering to medical advice.
30.
Dana White is undergoing Orthokine treatment for Meniere's disease, which he says has greatly reduced his symptoms.
31.
In 2022, Dana White stated he had undergone medical testing and was diagnosed with extremely high triglyceride levels and other irregularities.
32.
Dana White was given 10.4 years left to live if he did not rectify the problems.
33.
Dana White said that since then he has adhered to a ketogenic diet, which he says has remedied his sleep apnea and alleviated his leg pain.
34.
Dana White plays high-stakes blackjack, and has been limited from playing at multiple casinos in Las Vegas.
35.
Dana White stated in 2021 that the biggest sports bet he had placed was in 2007, when he wagered $1 million on Jermain Taylor to beat Kelly Pavlik.