Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Dana White, UFC
Jonathan Bray
UFC boss Dana White knows what it takes to create a star, having masterminded the remarkable rises of MMA legends like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.
However, the 56-year-old has admitted that beyond combat sports, he lives in his "own little world".
It comes after White revealed that he had only heard of pop sensation Billie Eilish in the last two weeks.
The UFC CEO became obsessed by Eilish's brand of alt-pop after stumbling across clips of her 2019 appearance at Reading Festival, during which she performed Bad Guy, which reached number two in the UK charts.
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Eilish made her appearance at the UK festival while she was still a teenager, and White admitted that he was impressed by how the Californian’s performance captivated the crowd.
“In my own little world, I just discovered Billie Eilish two weeks ago,” he said on The W.A.D.E CONCEPT.
“Never heard of her, never heard any of her songs or saw any of her things.
“Then I saw this festival, it was like the Reading Festival or something out of California.
“So this girl, who was probably 14 or 15 years old, with her brother, when she wrote this music, goes out to this festival in the afternoon.
“She was not even the main act that day, it was that night.
“The way that the crowd reacted to her and sang to her songs was one of the coolest things.
“I have watched it 150,000 times, seriously, my guys are sick of hearing it.”
White spoke ahead of his first outing as a boxing promoter, which will see Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Terence Crawford go head-to-head in Las Vegas.
He believes that people from all walks of life are capable of bringing star quality to the table.
“I love that kind of stuff,” he added.
“I love that this young, talented girl and her brother wrote this music, and the way that the fans reacted to her songs at this thing has just blown me away for the last couple of weeks.
“I can’t stop watching it.
“It’s just an example of how I live in my own little world.
“I think that no matter what business you’re in or walk of life you’re in, you always have the ability to find somebody that connects with people.
“The Conor McGregors, the Ronda Rouseys, the Billie Eilishs.
“I love going out and trying to find those kind of people.”