Who is Dana White? The entertainment and MMA world knows him as the current President of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a
mixed martial arts organization based in the
United States.
Biography
White was born July 28, 1969 in
Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969,
[2] White grew up in
Las Vegas, Nevada and
Levant, Maine. White is a passionate
Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the
University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.
[3]
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms
[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters
Tito Ortiz and
Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend
Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at
Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the
Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother
Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.
[5] White currently owns 9% of
Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.
[3]
Controversy
Loretta Hunt
On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for
Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his
YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official
UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by
GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.
[6][7][8] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.
[9] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."
Charity
In December 2010 White donated $50,000 for a life-saving surgery for the 7-month-old daughter of a popular Thai MMA trainer at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand.
[10] In a similar act of charity in 2010, White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.
[11] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 dollars to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".
[12] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.
[13]
Feud with M-1 Global
After signing negotiations with
M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter
Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,
[14] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.
[15] [16]
On June 26th, 2010 following
Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace
Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.
[17] The same symbol was expressed by White following
Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011
Strikeforce GP.
[18] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.
[19] This began a war of words on the social networking site.
M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults
[20]
Fedor Emelianenko and White have never officially met,
[21] although White has claimed to have met
Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".
[22] In 2011,
Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.
[23]
Accomplishments
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Who is Lauren Nicole London? The entertainment and acting world knows Lauren London as an American film and television actress, model, and occasional music video actress. Beginning her career in music videos and later transitioning into film and television, London earned recognition for her performances in the film ATL as well as the television shows 90210 and Entourage. Along with her acting career, London is also a spokesmodel for the Sean John women's collection.
London had made appearances in music videos by artists such as Tyrese, Ludacris, Pharrell, and Snoop Dogg.[3] Her breakout year came in 2006, where she made her television debut in the "Everybody Hates Funerals" episode of the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.[3] That same year, London landed her first film role as well, playing hip hop artist T.I.'s romantic lead in the film ATL. For her work, London was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the year's Black Movie Awards.[4] In 2007, London landed a role on the HBO comedy series Entourage, playing the character Turtle's (Jerry Ferrara) love interest.[5] Later, based on her performance in ATL, London was given her role in 2007's This Christmas without having to audition.[3] London, along with pop/R&B singers Cassie and Asia Nitollano, became one of the spokesmodels for the Sean John women's collection in 2007 as well.[6] In 2008, London landed the role of the character Christina in the first season of the show 90210,[7] originally thought to be a possible romantic interest of Tristan Wilds' character Dixon Wilson. London's next film role was the character Ivy in the 2009 release Next Day Air.[8][9] The same year, she played the character Cammy Alcott in the Chris Columbus film I Love You Beth Cooper.[10] London has appeared on the cover of such magazines as Jewel and King as well.[11][12]
London gave birth to her first son, Lennox Samuel Ari, was born on September 9, 2009[13] whose father is rapper Lil Wayne. The two had previously been romantically linked and engaged in 2007.
