UFC president Dana White recently revealed that UFC’s big break at NBC has been stopped on tracks other than Vince McMahon in WWE. In an interview with Steph McMahon, the UFC executive explained the scene. Vince McMahon plays the ultimate heel. According to White, the UFC was on the 2011 crisis of a game-changing partnership with NBC, but the wWE boss himself pulled out the rug.
Vince McMahon stalled NBC deal with UFC
Dana White explained that the UFC is “signing a deal and trying to do everything” on NBC in a story that sounds straight from the soap opera in the boardroom. This was only for network executives to discover the catch. MCMAHON was entitled to decide whether another combat sports could be broadcast on the USA network thanks to the WWE contract.
Dana White
“We can’t believe this. We didn’t know this, we just knew. McMahon has the right to determine if another combat sport can come to America,” White recalled what NBC executives said. So, what do you do when the pro wrestling boss holds your destiny in his hands? Of course, we will fly to WWE headquarters. Dana White and his team did not engrave the words “I don’t want you on the network” in classic Vince fashion. And like that, the entire NBC deal “exploded,” Dana White said.
“We’re trying to sign a deal and do everything. An NBC executive said, “We can’t believe this. We didn’t know this, we just got it. Vince has the right to decide if another combat sport can come to America.” We jump out, go to the WWE office and go see your father.
Instead, Dana White’s UFC Brass headed westward towards Los Angeles and struck a new partnership with Fox. The UFC has become a mainstream sports juggernaut, with both UFC and WWE being under the same umbrella of TKO Group Holdings.
Vince McMahon has recently been engulfed in a serious controversy involving multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and human trafficking by a former WWE employee. Most notably, the lawsuit filed in particular by former employer Janelle Grant at WWE’s Stanford headquarters in condemning abuse and coercion. These allegations led McMahon to step down from his executive chairman role in the TKO group. It was formed after WWE’s merger with the UFC, but he remained a major shareholder.
The scandal also sparked an investigation by the SEC, with McMahon agreeing to pay more than $1.7 million to resolve claims related to unpublished Hush-Money payments. Despite denying all the charges and vowing to defend himself vigorously, McMahon’s reputation was hit hard during the ongoing legal battle and public scrutiny.