It looks like two of the most powerful men in the combat sports world are set to unite! The WWE CEO Vince McMahon and the UFC President Dana White will soon be in a working relationship as Endeavor is set to buy the pro wrestling company valued at $9.3 billion. The news broke in the middle of WrestleMania 39 night 2 that the sale was imminent.
Some may wonder what UFC has anything to do with the process. To refresh the minds of the readers, Endeavor acquired UFC in 2016, for a sum of $4.2 billion. So the Ari Emanuel-owned company is the parent company of the UFC. According to a new report from InvestorsObserver, Endeavor is merging the UFC and WWE to build a new publicly traded company.
While Endeavor would own 51% of the new company, the WWE shareholders would still have control of the rest of the 49%. Hence, Dana White and Vince McMahon would soon be working side by side. In light of the news, there is a video going viral that shows how UFC’s introductory video package would look in WWE’s style. In the early 2000s, WWE had a very raunchy promo that fit the product at the time.
NEW UFC INTRO JUST LEAKED https://t.co/ZvaUQpx0gm pic.twitter.com/f8AJydpzjP
— Out Of Context MMA (@oocmma) April 2, 2023
With the song “Across the Nation,” by The Union Underground playing the in the background, the video seamlessly added UFC highlights and made it feel authentic. The video has already amassed over 200,000 videos on Twitter and has over 10,000 likes. Although fans are excited about the sudden team-up, let’s find out if the men in question get along or not.
Are Dana White and Vince McMahon friends in real life?
As per the report from InvestorsObserve, Dana White will continue to serve as the UFC President after the culmination of the new deal. While Ari Emanuel will be the CEO of the new company, Vince McMahon will be the Executive Chairman of the Board. Although Dana and Vince will not cross paths on a regular basis, they are now under the same company which is valued at a whopping $21 billion.
But there was friction between the two in the past over television spots. At the peak of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the MMA reality show used to air immediately after Monday Night Raw in 2005. Vince was not a fan of the move and requested the show be moved to a later timeslot. But, upon denial, Vince plotted a move to steal the former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg.
Although the matter was resolved later, it was not the only time Dana and Vince were on bad terms. At WrestleMania 34, Dana White was present in the arena to watch his ex-employee Ronda Rousey in action. White later revealed that his experience of the event was not pleasant at all and that the WWE’s seating arrangements for him were terrible.
But, Dana did not do the same when Triple H, Vince McMahon, and Stephanie McMahon attended UFC 276. The UFC President made sure to provide the trio with the best seats possible. Dana later spoke about his relationship with Vince and added that he respected the ruthless nature of the WWE head honcho.
From last summer, Dana White talks Vince McMahon:
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 3, 2023
He’s a killer. He’s buried the hatchet in my back a few times, but that’s what you’re dealing with. You don’t deal with a killer and not expect him to try to kill you. I have nothing but respect for Vince.
Also tells a WM story pic.twitter.com/q4Sect0q3V
He added, “He’s phenomenal. He’s a killer, he’s buried the hatchet at my back a few times. But that’s what you’re dealing with. It’s not like, you know, you don’t deal with a killer and not expect him to try to kill you. And yeah, I have nothing but respect for Vince though.”
From Vince wanting to fight Dana on PPV, to becoming business partners, the pair’s relationship has come a long way. So what is your take on Vince and Dana working together? Let us know in the comments down below.