50 of the best moments of Dana White’s career
By Amy Kaplan
UFC Toronto
By Joe Duffy
UFC 129 took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was headlined by one of the greatest Canadian athletes of all time in Georges St-Pierre. It was the sixth time White had brought the promotion to Canada several times before, but it was the first event under the UFC banner to take place in the province of Ontario. The event was held at the Rogers Centre and expected to host 42,000 fans. However, the show sold so many tickets so fast to UFC newsletter subscribers, that additional seats were going to need to be added after the presale. The event sold out lightning-quick when tickets went on sale to the public, and ultimately, 13,000 seats were added. The event grossed 11 million in gate revenue and was the largest UFC event in North American history. The card had a buy-rate of 800,000 and stands to this day as one of the biggest cards in UFC history.
Purchase of Strikeforce
By Ben Coate
Dana White is nothing if not good at getting what he wants. And in 2011, despite the continued booming success of the UFC, a handful of elite fighters were still contracted outside of the UFC. White wanted those fighters; he wanted the best fighters under his promotion. He did just that. On March 12, 2011, White announced that Zuffa had purchased its main North American competitor, Strikeforce.
The purchase of Strikeforce was not only a savvy and aggressive business decision, but it also did wonders for the UFC’s talent pool. The acquisition would result in some of the biggest stars and best fighters in the world fighting under the UFC banner. Stars like Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, Cung Le, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson would all have successful UFC careers, finally matched against the absolute best fighters in the world. Perhaps most importantly, the Strikeforce purchase paved the way for the arrival of Ronda Rousey, who would go on to become — and still is — one of the biggest stars the sport has ever seen.