Apr 8, 2022; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Dana White comes to the stage during weigh ins for UFC 273 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

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Dana White Shares His Take On What Truly Separates Fighters From Everyone Else!

Apr 8, 2022; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Dana White comes to the stage during weigh ins for UFC 273 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

Dana White has been around combat sports for decades now. The UFC president has worked with thousands of fighters throughout his career. He’s seen champions rise and fall, watched prospects fulfill their potential, and witnessed others crumble under pressure. White started as a boxing manager before taking over the UFC with the Fertitta brothers in 2001. Since then, he’s built the promotion into a multi-billion dollar global powerhouse.

Through all those years, White has developed a deep respect for what fighters sacrifice and endure to compete at the highest level. Recently talking to UFC fighters Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman, a clip of which they shared on Pound 4 Pound podcast, Dana White shared his take on what truly separates fighters from everyone else in the sports and entertainment world.

Dana White Shares Personal Realization About Fighters Being Different

Dana White didn’t hold back expressing his admiration for fighters during the podcast conversation. His comments weren’t just promotional hype or empty praise. White got genuinely reflective about what makes fighters special and different from every other type of athlete or performer. He opened up about his own past aspirations and the moment he realized he didn’t have what it takes to be a professional fighter himself.

“I respect all you guys. At one point in my life man, I wanted to be a professional fighter and a world champion. You have to wake up and realize and look in the mirror and you are like ‘You ain’t in’. You guys are different. There is no other people on earth like you.”

White’s point about fighters being uniquely different resonates because it comes from someone who genuinely understands the sport. He’s not some outsider making observations from a distance. White trained, competed at lower levels, and knows what separates weekend warriors from professional killers. When he says fighters are built differently, he means it literally. The mental fortitude required to step into a cage and fight another trained killer in front of millions goes beyond normal human psychology. Most people would freeze or panic in that situation. Fighters embrace it.

Why Fighting Is Different From Other Sports

Dana White made an interesting comparison between fighters and athletes from other major sports. He argued that team sports champions, no matter how elite, don’t face the same individual pressure and danger that fighters experience. A football player has teammates to rely on. A basketball player can have an off night while others carry the load. Fighters have nobody else to depend on once that cage door closes. White took his argument even further by discussing who actually watches fights vs other sports.

“The world championship football player, the world championship basketball player, it’s not the same. It’s about who you are and how you are built. Movies, sports, world leaders, they are all watching you. Everybody’s watching. The actors, the greatest athletes in the world, world leaders aren’t watching the NBA game on Wednesday night. They are watching the fight on Saturday night.”

That’s a bold claim, but there’s truth to it. UFC events attract diverse audiences that cut across all demographics and professions. The primal nature of one-on-one combat captivates people in ways team sports sometimes don’t.

(Image Credit: David Yeazell – Imagn Images)

Dana White

Henry Cejudo

Kamaru Usman

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!