Leaders Podcast

Out of Dana White's head and onto UFC Fight Island | The logistics behind a ready-made sports bubble | the new Covid-era fan data driving sport's decision-making processes. Episode 98 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast - brought to you in partnership with Arc - features a conversation with UFC COO Lawrence Epstein (begins at 7:15) on the eve of the MMA promotion's latest event on 'Fight Island' in Abu Dhabi. Epstein has been a driving force within the UFC since 2007, under the previous ownership of Zuffa and the Fertittas, and, since the $4 billion acquisition in 2016, under Endeavor. On the conversational agenda: - How the UFC managed to come back first with Fight Island; - The Making of UFC Fight Island; - The operational challenges - and efficiencies - that Covid-era, fanless fights entail; - Why and how the UFC's media deal with ESPN has proved transformative; - How life has changed under Endeavor; - What the UFC knows about its fans and how it knows it; - Dana White: the frontman, motivator, spirit an