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'The Ultimate Fighter' World Cup On The Horizon, According To Dana White

UFC President Dana White revealed his desire to create a World Cup-style tournament for 'The Ultimate Fighter'.

Dana White UFC
Dana White UFC

Dana White's dream of UFC globalization stretched farther than we ever imagined. Following the announcement of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil last week, the UFC President unveiled his ultimate ambition during Wednesday's UFC on Fox conference call.

"My goal is to get The Ultimate Fighter running in all these different countries at the same time," he said. "And then when you have a winner, you do like a World Cup, where each guy from each country fights each other and you end up with one winner."

With the UFC hovering at the precipice of the sport's largest ever stage, and rumored international TUF seasons in the Philippines, China, Canada, and England already in the works, the time finally seems ripe for the promotion to make such a bold move. Like it or not, the UFC is tied at the hip with the growing global insatiability for mixed martial arts, and as the promotion expands it's reach, so to do the seeds being planted for a broader consuming audience. "Kids are growing up taking [MMA]," White explained. "It's really spread like wildfire all over the world. There literally isn't a country that you could point you finger on a map that we couldn't get a fighter from.

"The amount of talent that The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is going to create is going to be phenomenal. As we continue to go into these different markets and do The Ultimate Fighter, it's just going to get very interesting."

The UFC has ventured into similar waters in the past, finding great success with TUF 9's United States vs. United Kingdom premise. The ratings for the country vs. country season boomed amid nationalistic implications, with the finale garnering the highest viewing audience in years. Imagining the scale of a similar venture on a global level is a eye-opening prospect.

"We're getting closer and closer to this dream I've had for the last five years," White affirmed. "Finally I feel like I'm on my way."