What is the relationship between Dana White and Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg?
UFC President Dana White and Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg are very famous in their respective fields today. However, the duo have a long history. In fact, the two were roommates for five whole months, as confirmed by Dana White himself.
While narrating a particularly famous incident of his life, Dana White's connection with Mark Wahlberg came up.
Back when he was in Boston, he was threatened by the organized crime mobster, Kevin Weeks. Weeks had asked Dana White to pay for protection money, something Dana White did not want to conform to.
He immediately headed back west to Los Angeles, and it was then that he was brought into contact with Mark Wahlberg. As for his initial meeting with Mark Wahlberg, Dana White said in an interview with The Boston Magazine,
"Right when I went back, I probably moved in with Wahlberg in ’96 or ’97 in L.A. He had just got done filming Boogie Nights and I was literally with him through all the Boogie Nights s**t. I saw Boogie Nights more times before the movie came out than any other movie I had ever seen."
Asked about his experience while living with Mark Wahlberg, Dana White said,
"I lived with Wahlberg for probably five months. He was a great roommate, I had a blast... Wahlberg is a good athlete. The house that we lived in when I was with him was a house that he rented. Now he’s got this house, he’s got like a real Celtics basketball court in his backyard. He’s got a whole boxing gym. It’s pretty cool."
Not only did Dana White live with Mark Wahlberg, but he also trained the latter in boxing, which is perhaps the reason they landed in the same house.
Dana White and Mark Wahlberg stayed connected through Mark Wahlberg's love for the UFC
Mark Wahlberg is a die-heart MMA fan, and attends many UFC events. In fact, the actor is more involved in the world of combat sports than one may think.
In 2016, when the UFC's parent company ZUFA was sold to WME-IMG for $4 billion, Mark Wahlberg was one of the celebrities who managed to acquire a stake in the UFC.
Apart from Mark Wahlberg, there are 23 celebrities who hold a stake in the UFC. These include actors Sylvester Stallone and Ben Affleck, tennis stars Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova, EDM producer and DJ Calvin Harris to name a few.
Mark Wahlberg loves hanging out with fighters, and has even acted alongside one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey.