Dana White Can Do No Wrong

Dana White is living proof that America is the land of opportunity. A lower middle class kid being shipped all over the country during his childhood, White dropped out of school after two years to become a bellhop and eventually an aerobics trainer then over night took control of what has become one of the largest sports phenomena to ever hit the globe. His unprecedented control over the sport has allowed him to manipulate the UFC in such a way that it is now being accepted by magazines like Sports Illustrated and touted as the "next big thing" as this SI cover from 2007 shows. Since the reader demographic of SI undoubtedly crosses outside of the M18-34 demo of MMA such an article in such a prestigious and popular sports magazine can only increase the size of UFC's audience. This cover came shortly after the biggest (current) name in the UFC, Chuck Liddell, appeared on the cover of ESPN the magazine and Randy Couture, the biggest name in MMA appeared on the cover shortly thereafter. What, a few years prior, would probably have dismissed the sport altogether now not only acknowledges it, but concedes to the possibility that it may be the next big thing.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/2360/sports-illustrated-cover-features-the-ufc.mma