Dana White Calls Vince McMahon the 'Michael Jordan of the Business World'

In the present day, Dana White and Vince McMahon are essentially part of the same team. That wasn’t always the case.

“My history with Vince isn’t a good one,” White told Sports Illustrated. “He tried to f---k me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to f---k me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”

The UFC and World World Wrestling Entertainment officially merged under the parent company TKO Group Holdings in September. White became UFC CEO as a result, but his duties haven’t changed significantly, while McMahon remains executive chairman of WWE. What has changed is the relationship between the two company heads.

“Since Day 1 of the deal, it’s like I’m dealing with a different guy,” White said. “It goes to show that when you oppose him, or he thinks you are opposing him, the guy comes after you blindly. Once you are aligned, Vince is an incredible partner.

“We’ve probably spoken on the phone 20 times since the deal. It’s all added-value conversation — with Vince doing work and raising the bar for both companies.”

In past years, White had positive interactions with WWE executives Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon —even while he was at odds with Vince. Now, White has nothing but praise for the WWE boss.

“Vince McMahon, man, he’s an absolute savage,” White said. “Even with the stuff that went down with us in the past, I respect it. I love killers. He’s definitely a killer. He’s the Michael Jordan of the business world.