Topics: Dana White, UFC
Dana White has revealed the moment he knew his dreams of being a professional fighter were over.
White has become the face of the UFC since acquiring the MMA promotion with brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta in 2001.
The UFC has been in safe hands with White, having transformed it into a billion-dollar company, with their latest media rights deal costing a staggering $7.7 billion.
Before he joined as the president then the CEO of the UFC, White used to work as a boxercise instructor in Boston and dreamt of being a professional fighter, with world champion aspirations.
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But the 56-year-old acknowledged his limitations, revealing the moment he knew his dreams of being a professional fighter were over.
Speaking to former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman on Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry, White said: "At one point in my life, I believe that I wanted to be a f**king professional fighter and a world champion. And someday you have to wake up and realise and you look in the mirror and you're like, 'Yeah, you ain't it. You don't have it'.
"And I've had the incredible experience over the years to interact with so many different levels of fighters. From guys just starting out to people who I believe are the best Olympic world champions and all this sh*t and and you guys are different."
White continued by comparing fighters to other athletes, claiming they are built differently from anyone on earth that attract interest from world leaders, including US president Donald Trump, who is often seen at UFC events.
"There's no other people on earth like you and you can be a world championship football player, world championship basketball player. It's not the same," he added.
"It's about who you are and how you're built. When you think about all other sports, right? Movies, sports, world leaders. World leaders.They're all watching you."
White never fulfilled his dreams of becoming a professional fighter but he has promoted an array of UFC superstars, including Cejudo, who won the UFC flyweight and UFC bantamweight titles, and Usman, who reigned as the UFC welterweight champion at the peak of his powers.
