Dana White, famous UFC promoter, said, “Nothing comes easy. Success doesn’t just drop on your lap. You have to go out and fight for it every day.” As the man said in the cartoon, “Them’s fighting words!”

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport under the UFC banner in which all the fighting disciplines are allowed. I must admit I find it hard to watch UFC fights. The violence is just too intense, but the rest of the world is not like me. UFC is now massive.

Arguably, no other sport has grown more in the past 30 years than MMA. As a result of his hard work, Dana White is now worth $500 million.

Recently I came across a very powerful 11-minute video backstory to Dana’s life. UFC Boss Dana White opens up about his family struggles and the recent passing of both his parents for the first time with Piers Morgan on Sky News Australia. Check it out below.

Here is the last part of the interview where Dana talks about the fact that his mum and dad had split when he was young and he effectively grew up neglected and fatherless. Dana’s father was an alcoholic. His parents, from whom he was estranged, had recently both died.

Piers Morgan: Obviously, it’s an extraordinarily sad part of your life. I didn’t know that your parents had both died recently and I thank you for sharing that very private information. I appreciate it, but I am curious to know if you acknowledge the drive, that you have a lot of, may have come from this quite rough time you had growing up. You suffered great loss. You didn’t have the love of your parents that many other people take for granted.

Dana White: No, no I do not feel that way. I cannot deny the fact that the way that I am built and my drive and all the things that I have definitely come from the relationship that I had with my parents. There’s no doubt about it, but no, I have no remorse I don’t feel bad about the way that I grew up. I mean it when I say that I wouldn’t change one thing about the way that I was brought up because I truly believe had I not had them for parents, had I not had the upbringing that I did have, that I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Piers Morgan: What are the things Dana… what are the things that it taught you not to do as a parent and what are the things that it taught you to do as a parent for your children?

Dana White: I think that… the two Do’s.

Firstly, I am here for my kids.

Secondly, you know I’ve been married for almost 30 years.

You go through a lot of things in a marriage. I mean, I just went through some stuff last New Year’s Eve. [Editor’s Note: Dana and Anne White got drunk together in Mexico at a club and his wife hit him and he hit her.] You know these things happen.

What you don’t do, is, you don’t leave, you don’t quit, you don’t give up, and you stay [married]. You know you don’t stay together just for your children, but you stay. I made a commitment 22 years ago when I had my first son, and you know I’ve stayed in there. I’m always there for my kids. Anything that they ever need. You see, my father taught me what it feels like to not have a father there at the house. What it’s like to not have that person around all the time when you need them, and I would never do that to my kids.

Piers Morgan: You once gave a great quote. You talked about: my legacy to me is when I drop dead, and my kids are at my funeral I want my three kids to get up and say he’s an awesome dad. That is ultimately, in the end, the real litmus test of success for you. I’ve seen other people say, if in the end your kids, when they get old enough to make that a decision for themselves, if they still want to be around you and they still love you and they still care about you, and they would speak at your funeral in positive way about you. That in the end is the ultimate litmus test of success far more than any financial benefits or gains or fights or whatever it may be.

Dana White: Well said! I couldn’t have said that better myself. You’re absolutely right. You know everybody’s always asking about your legacy. What you did for a living isn’t your legacy. Your legacy is your children, and their children, and how they feel about you. We all make mistakes, and we all fail in life and many different ways and things. My opinion is the one thing that you cannot fail at is being a parent. This is the ultimate failure. It shows that you really weren’t focused on the right things in your life if that’s what you fail at.

Watch the full hour-long Piers Morgan and Dana White interview here.

Lovework

I found Dana’s story incredibly inspiring. Obviously, he is still a work in progress — but aren’t we all?

I hope you are encouraged to go for gold for your kids in the New Year.

Happy New Year

Warwick Marsh

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.