[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
Here is a story published on this day three years ago about how a single phone call changed Dana White’s life and thus MMA history forever. The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 31, 2018, 9:06 AM]
The mobster who once ran Dana White out of Boston has died. NBC News reports that 89-year-old James “Whitey” Bulger was found dead in prison yesterday (Tues. October 30, 2018). The Boston Globe suggests Bulger was actually killed, however, authorities have yet to confirm his cause of death.
He was recently transported to the USP Hazelton federal prison in West Virginia, after having served the majority of his sentence in Florida. Bulger was one of America’s most-wanted fugitives before being arrested in 2011. The leader of the Boston-based Winter Hill Gang was on the run for 16 years prior to his arrest. Bulger was charged with 11 murders, 31 counts of racketeering, and firearms possession.
As a result, he was sentenced to two life sentences in 2013. Apparently, UFC President Dana White had issues with Bulger back in Boston. Before getting into the mixed martial arts (MMA) business, White found himself $2,000 in debt to Bulger in 1995. Bulger’s right-hand man allegedly threatened White, who bought a plane ticket to Las Vegas immediately after.
Here’s how White described the ordeal during a 2015 appearance on “The Herd” (via Bloody Elbow):
“I didn’t pay him,” White said. “This went on for a while, and one day, I was at my place and I got a call and they said, ‘You owe us the money tomorrow by 1 p.m.
“I literally hung up the phone, picked up the phone and called Delta and bought a ticket to Vegas.”
What do you think about the ordeal involving White and the Boston mobster?
