In 2001, the UFC was on life support—until an amateur boxing trainer went all in, convincing his friends, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, to buy the sinking ship for just $2 million. Nearly three decades later, the promotion reigns supreme atop the MMA world. But the crown may be weighing heavily on Dana White’s head. Why? Because the UFC CEO seems to be juggling too many ventures at once, and the overload might be chipping away at the sport’s core. Even his prized creation, Dana White’s Contender Series, is starting to lose its shine.

Dana White’s Contender Series, Road to UFC, and The Ultimate Fighter have served as stepping stones for aspiring fighters to climb the UFC ladder. However, the UFC CEO’s math might be more than just a little off. Dana White might have thought that his different endeavors would provide top-of-the-class talent to the UFC. However, quite the opposite happened as a chunk of the fighters from these promotions have made an impact within the UFC.

Now, you all might be wondering why we’re criticizing these subsidiaries — well, it’s because the fans might be done with DWCS. According to a Reddit post, the UFC is mismanaging its fighters, and DWCS should be blamed for this fiasco. Substandard fighters are flooding the UFC roster, most of whom are willing to fight for dirt-cheap contracts like $5K/$5K. The Reddit post argues that these low-tier fighters fill out the Apex Fight Night cards which are in themselves lackluster.

Instead of chasing elite talent outside the promotion, the UFC is recycling aging stars who are clearly past their prime. The few legitimate prospects are buried under a mountain of filler. The Reddit post further argues that if this keeps on, then the promotion might lose its crown. Well, the argument can differ from person to person.

Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) has produced top-tier talents such as Sean O’Malley, Jailton Almeida, Bo Nickal, Raul Rosas Jr., Jack Della Maddalena, Jamahal Hill, and many more. Several DWCS prospects have either become champions or are on the verge of fighting for a title, underscoring the series’ undeniable relevance in the sport. However, there’s no denying that the DWCS has been dumping their substandard fighters to the UFC. The MMA community has diverging thoughts on the fiasco. Let us have a look at what the fans have to say.

Dana White gets called out as fans debate DWCS’s future

When you’re at the top of the promotion, it’s customary to handle all aspects of the organization. However, the downside is that you don’t get to interact with most of the fighters—and Dana White knows this. Noticing that, a fan wrote, “Dana doesn’t even know who half the fighters are in the UFC at this point.”

Dana White and the Fertitta brothers sold their entity to Endeavor Holdings for a massive $4.2 billion back in 2016. The company was later merged with WWE to form a new publicly traded company, TKO Holdings. Endeavor which owned TKO has now been completely taken over by Silver Lake as of March 2025. The UFC CEO has been a minor stakeholder of the entity since 2016 and he continues to lead it from the front, but a fan believes, “The company that owns UFC got sold a few weeks ago. Dana isn’t running sh-t.”

Furthermore, the DWCS finally found some support from a fan: “To be fair, I’ve enjoyed DWCS very much. Might be due to the matchmaking, might be to the stakes, but the fights tend to be more entertaining.”

Maurício Ruffy, Carlos Prates, Jean Silva and Bruna Brasil became the stars of the promotion from DWCS. Looking at this, a fan wrote, “Fighting nerds came up from dwcs. Basically a whole new era of fighters.” A fan laid out his own assessment of his entire situation: “I agree and disagree. Whether they come up on DWCS or just get brought into the UFC theres gonna be lower-level fighters. However, I think the fights every weekend is a little much at this point. Sometimes it’s almost quantity over quality I’d much rather the UFC put out fewer fights with better cards, whether they’re fight nights, apex, or PPVs”

Last but not the least, a fan ascertained that the UFC needs its low-level fighters to sustain, “Not every fighter can be a champ bro lol. The ufc needs low level fighters along with mid-tier, ranked, and champs.”

As UFC CEO Dana White plans to bring in more fighters from DWCS, TUF, and RTU, what are your thoughts on the next era of the promotion? Share your opinion in the comments below.