UFC's Dana White joins Meta's board weeks before Trump takes office
Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a longtime friend of President-elect Donald Trump, is joining the board of Facebook parent Meta two weeks before the new Trump administration begins.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had a particularly tense relationship with Trump during the president-elect's first term in office, said in a Facebook post Monday that White has built the UFC "into one of the most valuable, fastest growing, and most popular sports enterprises in the world."
"I've admired him as an entrepreneur and his ability to build such a beloved brand," Zuckerberg said in the post.
Zuckerberg has been practicing mixed martial arts in recent years and has attended several UFC events, underscoring his enthusiasm for the combat sport.
In 2023, Zuckerberg tore his ACL during a sparring session as part of training for a competitive MMA fight. That year, Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk traded verbal barbs and indicated that they were willing to fight each other in a match that White would help produce. But Zuckerberg later said the fight was off because Musk wasn't "serious."
White appeared with Trump onstage on election night in November after the victory was in hand.
"This is what happens when the machine comes after you," White said, after being introduced by Trump. "What you've seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like. Couldn't stop him, he keeps going forward, he doesn't quit, he's the most resilient hardworking man I've ever met in my life."
Last month, Meta confirmed that the company had donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Zuckerberg was also one of several tech executives who visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, following the election.
White, who has led UFC since 2001, became embroiled in controversy two years ago after a video published by TMZ showed him slapping his wife at a New Year's Eve party in Mexico. White issued a public apology, and his wife, Anne White, issued a statement to TMZ, calling it an isolated incident.
Musk has had his own connections to UFC in the recent past. In 2021, Musk joined the board of Ari Emanuel's Endeavor Group, which owns the UFC through TKO Group Holdings. He exited a year later.
Other new members of Meta's board include John Elkann, the CEO of Italian holding company Exor, and former Microsoft head of corporate strategy Charlie Songhurst, Zuckerberg said.
Elkann is chairman of Exor's automobile companies Stellantis and Ferrari, while Songhurst has spent the previous year on Meta's advisory group helping the company with its artificial intelligence and technology strategies, Zuckerberg added.
"We have massive opportunities ahead in AI, wearables, and the future of social media, and our board will help us achieve our vision," Zuckerberg said.
WATCH: AI needs to deliver results
Meta elects UFC CEO Dana White, two others to board
Jan 6 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab said on Monday it had elected three new directors to its board, including Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Facebook-parent also elected Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab executive, as well as John Elkann, CEO of Exor, a holding company controlled by Italy's Agnelli family with interests in European businesses such as Ferrari and Christian Louboutin.
"Dana, John and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
Trump has had a long relationship with White, who had spoken in support of his candidacy at the Republican National Convention in July, and previously at the 2016 and 2020 conventions.
Zuckerberg, likewise, has developed a relationship with White in recent years as a mixed martial arts enthusiast and recreational fighter.
In one of their early public exchanges, Zuckerberg thanked White in an Instagram post in 2022 for inviting him to attend a UFC fight, while the UFC posted a photo online of the two embracing in front of the "Octagon" cage where fights take place.
Elkann is also the executive chairman of Stellantis NV and Ferrari, and chair of the nonprofit Agnelli Foundation, which focuses on education.
Songhurst has been serving on a four-member AI advisory group Meta convened in May to offer guidance on "strategic opportunities" in relation to the company's roadmap.
Zuckerberg has been positioning Meta for a potential second Trump presidency, expressing regret over previous content decisions that were unpopular with conservatives and praising Trump's response to an assassination attempt.
Last week, the company elevated prominent Republican policy executive Joel Kaplan to the position of global affairs head.
Meta also donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, in a departure from its past practice.
Zuckerberg Taps UFC President Dana White To Join Meta’s Board Of Directors
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Monday that UFC President Dana White will be joining his company’s board of directors, bringing on the prominent Donald Trump backer less than two weeks before the president-elect is set to take office.
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Zuckerberg and White appear to have grown closer since Zuckerberg began attending UFC events around 2022, becoming more involved in each other’s respective business since. That year, Meta announced a partnership with the UFC that brought UFC’s streaming video service to Meta Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality platform. Zuckerberg also had meetings last year with White about the use of artificial intelligence on UFC fighter rankings, according to an interview White had with TNT Sports. White said he was “totally going to fix the rankings” and that the UFC is “going to make a lot of strong moves here coming into 2025."
We estimate Zuckerberg’s net worth at $217.7 billion as of Monday, when the Meta chief overtook Oracle CEO Larry Ellison as the third-wealthiest person in the world.
Zuckerberg has taken up jiu-jitsu and earned a blue belt in the fighting style, raising concern from other executives at Meta who have said his participation in combat sports is a risk to investors.
White has spoken in support of Trump at the previous three Republican National Conventions, telling attendees at the 2024 installment Trump was “fighting to save the American dream” after reflecting on his 25-year friendship with the president-elect. Trump was an early supporter of the UFC, offering up the Trump Taj Mahal as a venue for UFC 31 and UFC 32 back in 2001. White has said he "does not give a [expletive]
Meta Denies Zuckerberg Told Trump He Can’t Vote For A Democrat (Forbes)
Mark Zuckerberg Praises ‘Badass’ Trump Response After Assassination Attempt—But Doesn’t Endorse Him (Forbes)
UFC head Dana White joins Meta’s board, Mark Zuckerberg’s second key right-wing appointment in a week
Meta has named three new members to its board of directors, including Dana White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive who played a key role in the reelection of his longtime friend, President-elect Donald Trump.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced White’s appointment — along with Charlie Songhurst, a tech investor who has been advising Meta on artificial intelligence, and John Elkann, CEO of Exor, a holding company that owns several automotive and other brands — in a Facebook post Monday. “We have massive opportunities ahead in AI, wearables, and the future of social media, and our board will help us achieve our vision,” Zuckerberg said.
The new additions bring the social media giant’s board to 13 directors, including Zuckerberg.
White’s appointment is particularly notable as it comes amid a broader apparent ideological shift to the right within Meta’s top ranks, and as Zuckerberg seeks to improve his relationship with Trump before the president-elect takes office later this month.
White stumped for Trump on the 2024 campaign trail, praised him at the Republican National Convention and walked alongside him at a November UFC match at Madison Square Garden following the election. White also used his connections to leverage appearances for Trump on friendly, right-leaning podcasts with millions of young, male listeners, although the UFC boss told the New Yorker in November that he, “want[s] nothing to do with politics” anymore.
White is also a leader of one of Zuckerberg’s favorite pastimes: competitive fighting. Zuckerberg has sparred with UFC professionals; in November of 2023, he tore his ACL training for an MMA fight. Zuckerberg also agreed to cage fight X owner Elon Musk, although that battle never materialized.
“I love social media. And I’m excited to be a small part of the future of AI and emerging technologies,” White said in an Instagram post announcing his appointment to the board.
Last week, Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, the company’s top policy executive, announced he was stepping down and passing the baton to his deputy, Joel Kaplan, one of Meta’s most prominent Republican leaders. Kaplan, who held several key roles, including deputy chief of staff for policy, in President George W. Bush’s White House before joining Meta in 2011, is “clearly the right person for the right job at the right time,” Clegg said in his announcement.
Meta has said Zuckerberg wants to take an “active role” in tech policy conversations with the incoming Trump administration. Like other CEOs, Zuckerberg met with Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort following the election and Meta donated $1 million to his inaugural fund.
In recent years, Meta also rolled back some election-related content moderation efforts, such as allowing users to post claims of voter fraud and political ads that question the outcome of the 2020 election — a move welcomed by Republicans who had accused the company of “censoring” conservative voices. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee over the summer, Zuckerberg also stated that the Biden administration had “pressured” Meta to “censor” content during the pandemic, a statement that was quickly used by Trump to once again promote the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
CNN’s Liam Reilly contributed to this report.
UFC boss Dana White says he is done with ‘disgusting’ politics after backing Trump
Dana White is tapping out of politics.
After embracing President-elect Donald Trump, the Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive said in an interview this week he won’t help future presidential campaigns, stating he “want[s] nothing to do with politics.”
“I’m never f***ing doing this again,” White told The New Yorker. “I want nothing to do with this s***. It’s gross. It’s disgusting.”
White played a key role in Trump’s second ascension to the White House, helping him reach millions of young male voters. A longtime friend of the president-elect, White stumped for Trump on the campaign trail, praised him at the Republican National Convention and walked alongside him at Saturday’s UFC match at Madison Square Garden.
White also used his connections to leverage appearances for Trump on friendly, right-leaning podcasts with millions of young listeners. White was upfront about his motivation in connecting Trump with so-called manosphere or bro-casters, saying the move was intended to tap into young voters.
“You’re getting conversations in these podcasts, and you yourself, as a young kid, get to really see who Donald Trump is,” White told The New Yorker. “Not the bulls*** you hear from the far-left media.”
In interviews with UFC fans outside Madison Square Garden, young voters told CNN they decided to support Trump after listening to podcasts helmed by Joe Rogan and other influential figures.
A recent study from the Pew Research Center showed that 40% of young adults aged 18 to 29 “regularly” get their news from these types of news influencers, many of whom skew conservative. Trump’s sit-downs with Rogan, Theo Von, Adin Ross, and Andrew Schulz, all of whom boast millions of followers across social media platforms, allowed him to reach directly to young voters without the scrutiny that typically comes with interviews with journalists.
After Trump was reelected this month, White attended Trump’s victory party in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the president-elect discussed helping White secure venues early in his mixed martial arts enterprise’s existence.
“Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does. This is what happens when the machine comes after you,” White said of Trump at his election night party. “This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this. They deserve it as a family.”
But White’s surprising decision to bow out of politics entirely presents a blow to Republicans hoping to continue harnessing the entertainment giant’s platform. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on White’s decision.
Still, even as the UFC boss backs away from future political campaigns, he remains firmly in Trump’s corner as he returns to the White House.
“Donald Trump is tougher and more badass than anybody,” White told The New Yorker. “You can only pray that you’re a quarter of the man that Donald Trump was when a guy tried to take seven shots at his head with a high-powered rifle with a f***ing scope on it.”
UFC boss Dana White and Donald Trump's long friendship culminates at RNC
The president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will take the stage on Thursday night before Donald Trump - days after an assassination attempt - officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump has embraced Dana White, one of his most outspoken supporters outside of politics, and the hugely popular combat sports franchise he manages, gracing several of its live events over the past year while grappling with court battles.
With an unfiltered and unorthodox style similar to Trump's, the UFC boss will now act as frontman, introducing his long-time friend as the finale of the Republican National Convention.
Their friendship dates back to at least 2001.
Back then, Mr White - an Irish-American college dropout turned boxercise instructor - had gone from managing two mixed martial arts (MMA) champions to becoming UFC president.
MMA had been facing a downturn. After then-US Senator John McCain labelled it "human cockfighting" and led a campaign to ban the UFC, its events were consigned to small markets.
"This brand was so bad, venues didn't even want us. Arenas didn't want us," Mr White said in 2022.
But after New Jersey legalised the sport in 2000, he continued, "Trump literally called us. He said 'Come to my place, do the event here. We'll have you at the Trump Taj Mahal'."
The now-defunct casino and hotel in Atlantic City went on to host the UFC 31 and UFC 32 MMA events, with Trump showing up for the first fight and staying until the last on both occasions, according to Mr White.
Both events boosted the company's profile and helped it secure larger venues for future events. Now the largest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC is currently valued at $12.3bn (£9.5bn).
And Mr White has stayed loyal to Trump through his evolution from business to politics.
Stumping for his friend at the RNC in 2016, he praised him in a short but fiery speech as "a hard worker" with "great business instincts".
"I know fighters," he said. "Donald Trump is a fighter, and I know he will fight for this country.”
Endorsing him again at the 2020 RNC, he championed Trump's record in office and said it was "critically important to re-elect" him.
Brash and uncensored in both language and manner, the UFC chief has said he "does not give a [expletive]" about mixing business and politics.
No stranger to controversy himself, he admitted last year to slapping his wife after a drunken altercation at a New Year's Eve party was caught on video. He has since apologised.
As Trump faced criminal, civil and other legal challenges in his post-presidency, he has been Mr White's guest at multiple special events.
In the past year, Trump has attended at least four such events, often making fighter-style entrances with background music and an entourage.
His last scheduled appearance was scuttled this past Saturday by the attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally.
The UFC is replete with fighters who speak out in support of traditionally conservative values, including several self-described "pro-American patriots".
Although it includes female fighters, the sport represents a hyper-masculinity that is arguably a good fit for the image generated by the Trump campaign.
Each time Trump has been received with thunderous ovations from clearly partisan crowds and taken VIP seats close to the octagon, or main fighting ring.
But he likely cannot replicate this growing love affair in other sports arenas, including those with Trump friendly audiences like Nascar and the PGA Tour, and the previously Trump-friendly WWE.
The failed assassination attempt on Trump has meanwhile reinforced his friend's support for his re-election.
"Everybody wants to act like the tough guy. But when the [expletive] goes down, you find out who the tough guys are and who the tough guys are not," Mr White told The Pat McAfee Show this week.
"This guy is the legitimate, ultimate, American badass of all time."
Media reports indicate that Trump has rewritten Thursday's nomination speech following Saturday's shooting to make an explicit call for unity.
But if Mr White's previous convention speeches are any indication, his introduction to the main event may not strike the same conciliatory tone.
The convention will also hear from controversial pro-wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
And, as one Trump surrogate put it, the former president's walk onto the stage is going to be like "Hogan at Wrestlemania".
Dana White, UFC CEO and Trump ally, to join Meta's board of directors
Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and an ally to President-elect Donald Trump, is set to join Meta's board of directors, the company announced on Monday.
"I've never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the offer to join Meta's board. I am a huge believer that social media and AI are the future," White said in a statement. "I am very excited to join this incredible team and to learn more about this business from the inside. There is nothing I love more than building brands, and I look forward to helping take Meta to the next level."
White has been closely associated with Trump, and the pair have been regularly spotted together at events dating back to 2001, per the Associated Press.
Trump has appeared at numerous UFC matches over the years, while White has spoken at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Republican conventions, appearing onstage at Trump's victory party, the outlet reported.
The political leaning of Meta's board and top leaders appears to be in transition, as the departure of Nick Clegg — a former leader of the UK's Liberal Democrats party and Meta's ex-president of global affairs — was announced earlier this month. Joel Kaplan, who has been the company's vice president of global public policy since 2011 and has extensive connections with the Republican Party, will replace him, Business Insider previously reported.
The leadership changes are in stark contrast to years of conflict between the tech giant and president-elect.
In 2021 Trump was banned from Meta platforms for what the company called praising "people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6."
That year, Trump sued Facebook, Google, and Twitter, as well as their respective CEOs, accusing them of unlawfully censoring him. His Meta accounts were reinstated two years later, but Trump has repeatedly and publicly attacked the platforms and Zuckerberg in the years since.
Since winning his reelection campaign, Meta has pledged $1 million to Trump's presidential inauguration fund, which BI previously reported is a sign the company may be trying to smooth over its relations with the incoming president.
In addition to White, Meta announced its board will now also include John Elkann, the CEO of one of the largest European investment companies, Exor, and tech investor Charlie Songhurst.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, said, "Dana, John, and Charlie will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables, and the future of human connection."
Representatives for Meta, the UFC, and Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
