Video summary
Kyle Forgeard reflects on his lifelong admiration for Dana White, tracing their friendship back to when both were young fans watching UFC broadcasts on Spike TV in eighth grade. He notes how the sport has evolved from an illegal underground activity that was not permitted in states like New York into a massive global brand under White's leadership. A pivotal moment in this evolution occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Forgeard highlights Dana as the only commissioner capable of keeping his organization running while other sports shut down; rather than just surviving, the UFC thrived because it became one of the few things available to watch at home. From a business perspective and public relations standpoint, Kyle describes White as an authentic "savage" who speaks his mind without filter, particularly during post-fight press conferences where he aggressively defends himself against media criticism. Forgeard emphasizes that their relationship is built on unwavering loyalty rather than formal corporate partnerships; despite Dana offering him equity in companies like HowAD and Happy Dad early on, Kyle politely declined to maintain a purely friendly dynamic free of percentage stakes or official agreements. This approach has allowed them to collaborate organically through tours and events without the constraints of traditional business deals, reinforcing White's reputation as a "big scary uncle" who is always there for his friends regardless of their personal circumstances. The conversation also touches on the public perception of authenticity versus manipulation in leadership, using figures like Trudeau and Dreo as contrasting examples where trust can be eroded by perceived slippery behaviors or unfulfilled promises regarding issues like weed legalization. Kyle argues that while some might view White's willingness to burn bridges—such as his stance involving Joe Rogan after a controversy—as poor business acumen, it actually stems from a deep commitment to doing what he says and proving doubters wrong. This drive to shut down critics and validate the organization's integrity is something Forgeard shares personally, noting that both men are fueled by the energy of overcoming skepticism and silencing those who count them out. Ultimately, Kyle concludes that in an era where fight sports face increasing scrutiny regarding legitimacy, such as debates over throw fights or specific clause manipulations involving fighters like Tyson Fury and Jake Paul, having a leader with absolute credibility is essential for fan trust. He asserts that once the cage door closes, the outcome belongs to the athletes, but the organization must be run by someone who embodies total honesty so fans can have complete faith in the product. This unwavering commitment to authenticity ensures that even when mistakes happen or controversies arise, the core integrity of the UFC remains intact because its head is a man whose word and loyalty are beyond question.
Read the full video transcript
talk to me about what you've learned
since being friends with Dana
White a lot I've I've looked up to Dana
White like my whole life honestly like
I've me and my dad would would watch UFC
like when I was on Spike TV when it was
just like it was nothing you know I've
been watching since I was probably in
like eighth grade so I've looked up to
Dana White and a lot of the UFC is like
way bigger now I don't know how long
you've been following it but it wasn't
the UFC that was today like right now
it's just like it's such a big brand and
stuff but they had to like battle to
build that so I've kind of seen the
evolution of the UFC as I'm sure a lot
of people have listening and like this
[ __ ] wasn't even like legal in States
like it used to not be legal in New York
like I watch these guys like battle
state by state never give up and just
build it into this like incredible
[ __ ] brand that it is today and you
see all these other MMA organizations
now it's never going to compete with the
UFC like the UFC is unmatched but yeah
so I've always looked up to Dana White
for that and just what he's been able to
achieve and he's just you can see he's
not a quitter uh from the outside and
then when I met him you can really see
like that guy's not a quitter how so
well even like look how he handled covid
right that's what blew up the UFC so
much like every other sport shut down
UFC was the only one that kept going
like Dana White was the only
Commissioner of a sport that was able to
keep that sport going all throughout the
heat of Co not only keep it going blow
it the [ __ ] up like Co was actually a
good thing for the UFC because it was
the only thing on um and that guy yeah
just behind the scenes too he doesn't
quit you know and he'll call me and give
me advice whenever something's going on
that that he'll see and yeah he's like I
told you before he is just the most
loyal guy you will ever meet like it's
so crazy like for us he'll just
I don't know it's almost like blind
loyalty too in in the same way it's just
like he's always there for us no matter
what and even sometimes like he just
doesn't even need to be you know even if
I'm like sick he'll like call me be like
yo you good bro like you need an IV like
I'll send like he's just always there
for us so having a friend like him is
it's truly like insane yeah what about
the way that you've observed him sort of
operate from a business perspective the
way that he runs the UFC the way that he
sort of deals with with his own um re
interaction with press with exposure
with scrutiny with stuff like that yeah
I think I mean he's obviously a Savage
right like even though I'm friends with
him like I'll literally watch almost
every Dana White like post UFC press
conference because the guy's just Savage
like if if a media guy goes at him he's
gonna ream them out you know what to get
with Dana White right he's himself he
speaks his mind so with the UFC stuff we
don't we kind of stay away from that we
let him handle the business of that we
don't even really talk UFC business with
Dana ever cuz he talks about that [ __ ]
all the [ __ ] time when we're with him
if we're talking business we're talking
about happy Dad we're talking about
howad we're talking about the podcast or
we're talking about maybe new Ventures
that we want to do together in the
future and we've never had like any type
of partnership like with Dana or the UFC
besides like some clothing but there's
no like formal agreement there's no
formal agreement like even with happy
Dad and howad um I know Dana had offered
me like a little piece of howad back in
the day and like I kind of just told him
in the most respectful way like I'm
really appreciative of this but like I
just want to do whatever you want me to
do and I don't want to take a percentage
of your company like I just want to
remain friends and like let's just he
and he was on the same page and I think
I think he like really respected that so
with happy Dad he's helped us so much
like we'll go and do happy Dad howad
tours together and stuff so he's kind of
like the uncle of Neel right he's pretty
much like an big scary Uncle big scary
uncle that you don't [ __ ] around with
yeah no that guy's he's a legend
everyone that knows him in real life
knows like how great of a person he is
it's wild you know to think that that's
able to come across I haven't met Dana
but
from conversations that I've seen him
have from stories that I've heard behind
the scenes from the stories that I've
heard in public uh it is absurd to have
somebody that's kind of the head of an
organization like that who's the one
that seems to have the
most credibility this sort of unwavering
commitment to his word like even to a
fault a lot of the time even when he
[ __ ] up and he just decides to be as
upfront as possible I don't know how he
does it but he does it and that's why
he's away he's just a well I think what
people are really desperate for is
authenticity yeah like they're really
really hungry for authenticity one of
the problems is that if you realize that
authenticity is something that people
like and resonate with you can try to
sort of speedrun it or or growth hack it
somehow which is the exact opposite of
authentic you can't inauthentically be
authentic right you know yeah uh and I
think people can just tell they know
when you're playing a game when you're
trying to manipulate them and
even if you don't know why even if you
can't say what it is we've got this
weird sixth sense that exists behind the
back of our head somewhere you
go I don't know man there's something
there's something up here I just don't
get Trudeau perfect example of this with
dreo like tell me what it is about that
guy that makes you not trust him maybe
you can point to specific statements
he's made and all the rest of it he
could just tell he's a slime ball
largely it's just the fact that he's got
this slippery fre demeanor you think hey
I don't [ __ ] trust you guy and he
fooled everyone with the free weed
legalization when he first ran that
what's that I think I think that's like
when he first ran it's just because he
was going to legalize weed like that's
why everyone loved him okay that never
came to fruition no it did it's legal in
Canada okay yeah so I guess he did one
good delivered on a promise yeah uh but
yeah it's watching Dana operate
especially at that level especially with
the additional amount of scrutiny and
all the rest of the stuff that's
happened is
wild it's very very like I just he just
likes to win too one thing about him I I
know what drives him and it's proving
people
wrong and that's kind of one thing I
think me and him have in common is we
both like just like shutting people up
you know like whether it's fans in the
comments or for him it's the
media shutting people up is a good
feeling you know what I mean when
everyone's saying something and they're
all counting you out it just drives you
and you're like I just want to shut
these people up so [ __ ] badly I think
that's one thing that that drives both
of us and then you come back with the w
you come back with the dub yeah yeah
that's an interesting energy you know
what I mean by that or no I know exactly
what you mean by it yeah it's a it's a
really interesting energy to think about
how you need that sometimes I feel well
dude proving people wrong I think is
it's a potent fuel yeah it's an
incredibly potent Fuel and it's one that
you can
use very very effective ively especially
you know I've heard Dana talk about this
a couple of times especially with
regards to Trump you know that he is
happy to burn everything down I mean he
said uh there's a story that he talks
about to do with Rogan I think where
somebody didn't want Rogan to be a part
of some something moving forward or he'd
been a maybe it was one of the scandals
oh yeah it's probably when Joe said
something [ __ ] yeah the CNN thing or
whatever it might be and Dana was
prepared to burn everything for one guy
yeah of course and you think that's in
some ways that's really not good
business Acumen but what you're up
you're you're working off of such
unbelievable loyalty that the business
gets ripped along for the ride and what
does it tell people what's the subtext
that it tells people about the business
this is a business that is going to do
what it says MH and you can have
complete nut of faith in it yep and uh
especially you know the world of fight
Sports we've seen it how many times over
the last couple of months uh Tyson and
Jake Paul and the number of criticisms
oh it's a thrown fight it's the three
fight Clause Etc usyk Fury rematch
Clauses they're not actually fully
throwing punches all of this sort of
stuff and I think that it's really
important to have for something like the
UFC
where you can trust it yeah even the
[ __ ] sniff that this wasn't
legitimate the entire organization I'm
sure there has to have been some fights
that have been a little manipulated here
or there because the UFC's done but once
they're in once they're in the cage it's
done yeah I mean it's the UFC but you've
got to have the
guy they obviously help put people in
the cage that they want to I mean that's
obvious but like once they're in the
cage it's up to you you know they're
they're not fighting for you when you're
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