Of all the places one might expect find UFC President Dana White, inside the Goodman Library at the Oxford Union Society in Oxford, England, probably is not one of them. Yet, here he sits as he prepares to speak to the student members of the Oxford debate club where he expects to answer some tough questions.
White follows a long line of prestigious names who have spoke at the club, including Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Malcolm X, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.
In a press statement released earlier this month, Oxford Union Society vice president, Ash Sangha, spoke about their reasons for inviting White:
“As president of UFC, Dana has created a billion dollar global sports company in less than a decade and we look forward to hearing his take on the rise of the UFC and giving us greater insight into this phenomenon.”
White touches on several subjects in this 13-minute interview with Fanhouse reporter Ariel Helwani. White finally opens up with his thoughts on UFC 119 and the disappointment of the Frank Mir–Cro Cop main event and why he didn’t do any one-on-one interviews after the press conference.
White also addresses the possibility of over-saturation and explains how it is a non-issue when you consider the UFC is expanding their reach into places like India, China and Toronto and within the next few months the UFC will be in one billion homes. The Prez foresees a day when while one event is taking place in the U.K. there will be another event taking place at the same time in the U.S. or another country. Also, White continues to tease about some upcoming news that will “blow our minds”.
The President shares his thoughts about the upcoming UFC 120 card this Saturday and which fights he is most interested in. He also has a few words for those who may be criticizing the line-up: “It’s free on Spike TV. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”