Dana White named in TIME’s 100 most influential people in sports list

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 08: Dana White is seen during a segment of "Good Day New York" on May 08, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Simon/Getty Images) | Getty Images Dana White has arguably never been more popular heading into UFC White House. The latest accolade added to the UFC CEO’s résumé saw him announced as part of TIME magazine’s first list of the 100 most influential people in sports. White joins a list of luminaries that includes superstar athletes LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, Caitlin Clark, and Eileen Gu, and high-ranking executives Gianni Infantino and Roger Goodell, among many others. See the announcement below. The Boss, @DanaWhite has been named to the inaugural 2026 #TIME100Sports List, recognizing 100 of the most influential figures shaping the global sports landscape. @Time Full story: https://t.co/lIDZZ6yyAK pic.twitter.com/T0iJEewLlC — UFC (@ufc) June 9, 2026 Two other names from the world of combat sports also made the list, boxing champions Oleksandr Usyk and Amanda Serrano. See the full list here. Widely recognized as the face of the UFC, White was also recently photographed for a TIME Magazine cover. White has frequently been credited for his role in helping his now-globally famous MMA promotion rise from outlaw attraction to mainstream juggernaut. In 2001, White was installed as UFC president after the promotion was purchased by his friends Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and has served as the UFC’s figurehead for over two decades. White, 56, played a role in the UFC’s eventual $4 billion sale to WME-IMG in 2016 and later saw his title change from president to CEO. He remains the biggest name in the organization and has promoted other combat sports ventures in recent years, including Zuffa Boxing and Power Slap. This Sunday, he will be front and center at the historic UFC White House event, alongside close friend President Donald Trump and numerous other officials and VIPs. See TIME Magazine’s write-up for White below: Through his force-of-nature personality, Dana White has transformed what was once a fringe activity, deemed “human cockfighting” by John McCain in 1996, into a $1.5 billion operation that stages cage fights around the world. In 2025, the UFC helped secure its future when it inked a seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deal with Paramount that effectively doubled revenues from the previous agreement with ESPN. And on June 14, White will host his most high-profile spectacle: a fight card on the South Lawn of the White House. Ilia Topuria, a Georgian-Spanish lightweight who’s ranked the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, is scheduled to face American Justin Gaethje in the main event. “We’re putting on the most historic sporting event in history,” White—like his friend President Trump, no fan of understatement—told TIME

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Dana White joins LeBron James and Lionel Messi on exclusive list