Dana White leads UFC into social realm
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White calls it “the lab.” On fight nights, White sets up multiple computers in his…
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White calls it “the lab.”
On fight nights, White sets up multiple computers in his dressing room to create a de facto social media hub. Up until he walks out into the arena before the event’s pay-per-view broadcast, he and his team monitor and take part in online conversations centered around the fights.
“When we go live, the fans are always saying on the Internet, ‘Oh he’s such an idiot. He’s got the best seat in the house, and he’s always on his phone or looking at the TV,'” White said. “The reason for that is I’m watching the TV screen because I’m making sure that everything looks good on TV. I’m on my phone because I’m reading Twitter.”
White is not only reading. He’s responding. He’s aware that the cable is out in Iowa, meaning a fan can’t access the pay-per-view he paid for. Or that fans traveled all the way from England only to find out they purchased fake tickets.
“Back in the old days, this is [stuff] you wouldn’t know until Monday,” White said. “You’d hear all these bad things that happened during your event, and you’d be like, ‘God, we got to make sure this doesn’t happen next time.’ … Now, as these things are happening, I have people running around fixing all the problems that are happening that I’m reading on Twitter.”