UFC President Dana White: I Don't Think We're Mainstream Yet

Has the Ultimate Fighting Championship become a mainstream sports league, or does it still belong in the "niche" category? You might be surprised to learn that UFC's president, Dana White, thinks UFC has yet to arrive.

"Mainstream to me is if I walk down on the strip and started asking everybody on the strip, 'Who is Shaquille O'Neal?' and everybody answers the question. That's mainstream to me. I don't feel the UFC is there yet. I think it's gonna be. We're already the biggest combat sport in the world. We're bigger than WWE. We're bigger than HBO boxing. My point is I don't think we've even scratched the surface of how big this sport is going to be."

I like White's definition of mainstream, and I think he's right that UFC isn't there yet. I'm not sure what portion of the American public can name even one fighter in UFC, but I'm sure it's less than half. Finding a transcendent star, one who would be recognized even by non-sports fans, is the key to putting mixed martial arts in the company with football, basketball and baseball.