• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Dana White’s Next Frontier: Making Jiu-Jitsu Mainstream

UFC president Dana White is continuing a run of new combat sports competitions, but this time, he’s going back to his roots. 

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Less than four months after Dana White and UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings unveiled plans to expand into boxing, a similar plan is now unfolding for Brazilian jiu-jitsu. UFC will stage its first jiu-jitsu live event on June 25 as part of UFC’s international fight week in Las Vegas. 

That three-match card is already being aided by a companion content series, UFC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Road to the Title, that premiered Monday on UFC’s YouTube channel, and will continue for an additional seven episodes. 

The new competition, like in UFC, will feature divisions for both men and women. As TKO expands its presence across combat sports to include mixed-martial arts, boxing, power slap, professional wrestling, and now this additional endeavor, jiu-jitsu was a foundational interest for White—particularly as it also comprises one part of MMA.

“The reason that me and the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC [in 2001] was initially because of jiu-jitsu,” White tells Front Office Sports. “We started training in it, became obsessed with it, then started meeting with a lot of the UFC fighters, and thought about what could be done there. Now, nearly 30 years later, we’re getting back into jiu-jitsu.”

Different Climb

While the new TKO boxing effort, now called Zuffa Boxing, involves additional Saudi investment, the jiu-jitsu initiative will be an internal one. White said earlier this year that he plans to spend between $10 million and $12 million over the next year to develop the new competition. 

Despite UFC’s run of success in recent years, however, there is unquestionably a heightened challenge in this latest endeavor, as jiu-jitsu is very far from a mainstream spectator sport, particularly in the U.S. White intends to lean in to a burgeoning youth participation component to help drive fan interest.

“The sport is big. Millions of people train in it all over the world,” White says. “When we were growing up, our parents might have put us in karate or taekwondo or something like that, but this is the martial art that parents are putting their kids in now. … We plan to take this sport and introduce it to the mainstream.”

He also sees jiu-jitsu being part of a future, multi-event “TKO Takeover” that started earlier this year with a weekend run of WWE, UFC, and Professional Bull Riders events.

“We could absolutely go into a city and have jiu-jitsu on a Thursday, power slap on a Friday, Saturday night is the UFC, and Sunday or Monday is WWE,” White says. “The list goes on and on. That’s absolutely part of the thinking.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Trey Hendrickson Ends $450K Holdout Without New Bengals Deal

The defensive end is seeking a raise on his $16 million 2025 salary.

Browns Push Forward on $2.4B Stadium Despite Political Obstacles

The NFL team plans a stadium groundbreaking, despite funding and legal issues.

MLS Suspends Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba for Skipping All-Star Game

The league enforces its existing policy on its biggest star.

Prospective Rays Owner Must Start Fresh As $1.3B Stadium Deal Ends

St. Petersburg, Fla., officials formally terminate a prior ballpark agreement.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Moe Wagner

NBA Adding European Games as It Explores New League

The Magic and Grizzlies will play in Berlin and London in January 2026. 
July 29, 2025

How Sports Leagues Are Responding to NFL Headquarters Shooting

The building housing the NFL headquarters was barricaded and closed Tuesday.
July 30, 2025

Ex-NBPA Director Defends Two-Apron System: ‘There’s No Hard Cap’

The NBA’s two-apron system started in the 2023–24 season.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jul 27, 2025; Washington, D.C., USA; Leylah Fernandez (CAN) celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Anna Kalinskaya (not pictured) in the women's singles final of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
July 29, 2025

DC Open Increases Women’s Purse by 39%, Keeps 2027 Target for Equal..

DC Open chairman Mark Ein spoke to Front Office Sports.
July 29, 2025

Golf Major Bringing Biggest Women’s Sporting Event to Wales

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is hosting the AIG Women’s Open.
NYPD
July 29, 2025

Shooter at NFL Building Targeted League Over Head Injuries

The gunman shot one league employee in the building lobby.
July 29, 2025

Top MLS Voices Advocate for International Schedule Change

The league is still weighing a move to align with international soccer.