During a recent appearance on the Spinnin Backfist MMA Show, UFC CEO Dana White addressed a question that has followed him throughout his career: Why has the UFC never entered the kickboxing space?
With the promotion expanding into boxing and continuing to grow Power Slap, host Robbie Fox asked White directly about the absence of kickboxing from the UFC portfolio.
White revealed that UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been persistently advocating for the promotion to enter kickboxing. “Joe Rogan has been all over me about this,” White said.
White noted that Rogan even contacted him during his recent vacation in Fiji to push the idea. He said, “He even hit me up when I was on vacation, saying, ‘Dana, you got to do this. You got to do this. You got to do this.'”
However, White remains unconvinced about kickboxing as a viable business opportunity. “I’ve never been a believer in kickboxing,” he stated plainly when asked why the promotion has stayed away from the sport despite its visual excitement and similarity to mixed martial arts.
White explained his skepticism by pointing to kickboxing’s historical struggles in the American market. “I used to watch it, you know, back in the 80s. It was supposed to be the Kick of the 80s was going to be the big thing and it just never worked,” he said.
Even during kickboxing’s peak years with major stars competing in the Netherlands, White noted the sport failed to achieve mainstream success. “All those big names at that time that were fighting, it still wasn’t, it still didn’t, you know, if Pride didn’t exist, all those guys would have never made the money they made.”
When Fox pressed him on the appeal of modern kickboxing, noting how exciting current clips appear, White acknowledged his appreciation for the sport as a spectator. “I like watching it,” he admitted.
However, he drew a clear distinction between enjoying kickboxing and believing it can be commercially successful. “Just as far as promoting it and selling it, in my opinion, it’s very hard to do.”
With the UFC now launching into boxing with Zuffa Boxing, White suggested he needs to focus on one expansion at a time. “Let me see how boxing goes and you know what I mean. One thing at a time,” he explained.
For now, kickboxing remains outside the UFC’s plans, despite continued interest from Rogan and fans who see the sport as a natural fit alongside the promotion’s other combat sports ventures.
