The UFC's Dana White on Telling Chuck Liddell to Retire

We bought the UFC in January 2001 for $2 million. At that point, it was hanging on by a shoestring, but we believed that, marketed the right way, this thing could be popular all over the world. We’re all human, and fighting’s in our DNA. So we got [mixed martial arts] sanctioned in every state that has an athletic commission. We invested $10 million into a reality show called The Ultimate Fighter. Now we’re in 175 countries and over a billion homes worldwide. The UFC has become a part of pop culture, and we have a seven-year deal with Fox [at an estimated $100 million a year].

Some people think we’re too violent. But in the 20-year history of the UFC, there has never been a death or serious injury. What other sport can say that? These guys involved in contact sports, whether it’s football or mixed martial arts, it’s what they were put on this earth to do. Someone can say, “Listen, I know about concussions. I had a couple in college. I’m done with them.” Then there are these guys, like, “I don’t give a s‑‍-‍- if I get a concussion every single hour. This is what I’m going to do until the day I die.”