"I don't give a sh*t about that stuff"- Dana White responds to Vince McMahon securing lifetime tenure as executive chairman in contractual agreement
UFC president Dana White has responded to Vince McMahon securing a lifetime tenure as executive chairman following the UFC-WWE merger.
The merger between the two global sports entertainment entities was announced earlier this year and now it has officially been completed. UFC and WWE have completed their merger and the two companies are now jointly called TKO Group Holdings.
Interestingly, Vince McMahon who retired as the chairman of WWE last year amid allegations of sexual misconduct has been brought back to the company. It is worth noting that McMahon has been made the executive chairman of the WWE and seems to have a lifetime tenure.
According to the new contract, Vince McMahon will remain the executive chairman of the new company “until death, resignation or incapacity.” Upon being asked about having a similar clause in his contract, Dana White responded by suggesting that these things don't bother him.
Dana White had this to say during a recent media scrum for DWCS:
"I don't give a sh*t about that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? Even the CEO thing it's a lateral move for me, I run everything that happens here, everything that goes on here, I determine. So, nothing has changed it's just three letters instead of....but I'm the CEO and president of the UFC now, but nothing changes, we're just going to continue to kick a** like we do every single year."
Catch White's comments below (4:55):
UFC-WWE merger: Dana White and Vince McMahon present to ring the NYSE bell
On September 12, 2023, the shares of the newly formed TKO Group started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel was presented with the honor of ringing the bell to open trading at the NYSE.
During the ceremony, he was joined by Dana White and Vince McMahon. Besides them, Nick Khan, Triple H, and former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier were also present during the historical event.
Watch the video of the ceremony below:
TKO is expected to boost the UFC and WWE’s global growth, helping both organizations to take a step forward. Together, the WWE and UFC have more than 1 billion fans and have viewership in over 180 countries. That said, it will be interesting to see how successful the two entities become with their new merger.