Dana White: Now is the time to deliver
Posted on September 2, 2011, 07:02 PM by Trent Reinsmith
Most MMA fans fully immerse themselves in the sport. They may casually follow other sports, but for the most part MMA is the sport that they are truly passionate about. That passion can sometimes lead some of the more hardcore fans to believe that MMA is a mainstream sport, that it is already rivaling the popularity of the NFL, MLB, NBA and especially the NHL, but the fact of the matter is, it’s not.
One person who is fully aware that the sport is not mainstream is the President of the UFC, Dana White. During the media call to announce the UFC on FOX main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, White said, "We're not mainstream. Mainstream is when you walk down the street of any major city anywhere and ask them if they know what basketball is. That is mainstream. What we're getting here is we're getting the opportunity from FOX to become mainstream. Like I said when we announced this deal, we're not sitting around patting ourselves on the back saying, 'We made it.' Now's the time to work, now's the time to deliver."
The fact that White can bluntly state where the UFC stands as far as mainstream popularity speaks volumes. It shows that he is fully aware of how much the sport has grown in the last ten years, but it also shows an awareness that in the big picture MMA (and the UFC) has made minimal inroads as far as the general public is concerned.
The deal with FOX has the potential to put the UFC in the same conversation with the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL and we will all get to watch it develop, something that just a few years ago seemed utterly impossible.
What do you think LowKick’ers, is MMA on its way to becoming a mainstream sport?
Further reading: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos to headline UFC on Fox Debut
Comments
I think it will become somewhat mainstream, but will never be as big as football or basketball unfortunately. These sports do so well because they have teams that represent states. Many people will watch a football game even if they're not entertained by it for the simple fact that their state's team has some chance at the super bowl.
sorry but at my barber shop all you do is bring up a fighter and its on...
guys just start going off about fights and ect....
Is your barber shop "main stream"?
Just wait until they start pitting champions against entire basketball teams. People would probably watch GSP take on the Celtics.
the best chance it has is to beat boxing, it can't elevate further, the subject matter of fighting is a love or hate deal, and there'll always be a big group who don't agree with it, only in some sci-fi film starring arnold scharzenegger in a blood-thirsty 2050 could it ever rival football
Cain and JDS are the best two heavyweights in the world, on paper this should be a great fight. However Cain has been out a long time and the chances of him being the same Cain we all knkow and love are 50/50 at best imo. I think the UFC are taking a big gamble, they should have went with two top 5 guys from any division who are exciting and more importantly ACTIVE. I know Rashad overcame the ring rust but he was wasn't injured for the majority of time out he was off.