Khabib
Nurmagomedov credits Dana
White for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s success.
Nurmagomedov recently praised White’s ability to separate business
from personal relationships. “The Eagle” says White operates with
cold blood, which allows him to make tough decisions that are often
criticized. He believes it is White’s ability to make those
decisions regardless of backlash that has made the UFC reach the
pinnacle of success.
Why Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Dana White’s tough decisions
pushed the UFC forward
The former UFC lightweight champ says White is like an Italian
mafia boss, for whom family always comes first. According to
Nurmagomedov, in White’s case, the UFC comes before anything else.
While Nurmagomedov acknowledges the contributions of several others
in the UFC’s success, he believes White has always played the most
pivotal role.
“[Dana] is very good at separating business and personal
relationships,” Nurmagomedov told Lex Fridman. “For him, they will
never overlap. He draws a clear line between them. In business,
he’s extremely cold-blooded. He’s made some major decisions
regardless of whether people like him or not. Those decisions were
best for the UFC. He always had that mentality from those mafia
movies where family comes first. Well, for him, the UFC always came
first. That’s the only way he was able to push that brand forward.
Of course, a lot of people contributed to that… There were a lot of
things that made the UFC unique, but the cherry on top was always
Dana.”