MODERATOR: Your Excellencies and distinguished guests, the Secretary of State, accompanied by the UFC President and CEO Dana White; UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein, and the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. (Applause.)
UNDER SECRETARY ROGERS: Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. Thank you to our Diplomatic Corps partners, thank you to our colleagues from the White House, and thank you especially to our guests from UFC and TKO for being here for this historic moment. When you become a diplomat, you hear the phrase "convening power" a lot, and that's basically diplomat-ese for bringing people together. And it is axiomatic and obvious that sports brings people together.
And I cannot tell you how many international conversations and encounters I've had where maybe we and our counterparties disagree about something, but I am so lucky that sports diplomacy - we are all so lucky that it's part of our portfolio, because when discussion gets around to FIFA World Cup, or it gets around to the upcoming Olympics, or it gets around to beloved American sports like UFC, people light up. Sports are something we all agree on.
And when you think about it, UFC is tailor-made for diplomacy arguably more than any other sport. And why is that? Why do people like and respond to sports? Why do they paint their faces, and cheer, and form crowds, and care so ardently who gets this ball across this goal line? It's because sports is a stand-in for combat. It is the most ancient and universal form of contention. And not only does UFC draw on that universal human tradition; it is tailor-made for diplomacy because it accommodates and embraces all different international fighting styles. Whether you're a Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, or a Chinese kung fu master, or an American boxer, UFC is a sport where you can fight and you can win.
And UFC draws on some essential strands of the American character. In America, we cheer for somebody who can get knocked down and get back up again and win the match. Not only that - the Octagon is the ultimate meritocracy. That's something Americans respond to, it's something our diplomatic partners around the world respond to, and it is a reason why, when I go abroad and I try to chat with normal people, they can tell I'm an American but they can't necessarily tell that I'm an official American, like people I meet at, like, hotel lobbies and places like that, and I ask them: What do you like about America? What American brands, what American figures, what American celebrities are known here? I cannot tell you how often UFC comes up.
And so, frankly, the only mystery is why we didn't do this partnership sooner. But I think a real focus of this administration, a real productive and successful focus of this administration, has been expanding and doubling down on our sports diplomacy portfolio. We have a great MOU with the NFL just like this one, and we couldn't be more thrilled to add UFC to our roster.
So with that, it is now my honor to introduce UFC's Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein. (Applause.)
MR EPSTEIN: Thank you very much. It's an honor to be here, and we couldn't be more pleased to be partnering with the United States State Department to figure out ways to build bridges, to be diplomats through our sport.
UFC is an incredibly global sport and an incredibly global organization. We're doing 43 events per year, and about 17 or 18 of those are in jurisdictions around the world. If you take a look at our roster of fighters, we have fighters from in excess - and this moves a little bit, but in excess of 75 countries. When you look at our roster of champions, they come from all over the world. And so we're perfectly suited and very excited to be part of this program, because we truly are a global sport and a global brand.
I could tell you a ton of stories about our travels around the world and how we've connected, exactly as the under secretary said, with so many different people from so many different cultures, from so many different geographies, bonded and connected because of the UFC, because of the sport of mixed martial arts. I agree 100 percent with your comments, that it is - we are a global brand and a global sport, but we are American at heart and our cultural values are American. And that grit, that get up after you've been knocked down, that refusal to ever lose - and the story of our business, too, how we started literally from one person who's standing over there, who I'm about to introduce, to where we are today. It's an incredible entrepreneurial story also.
So we're incredibly proud of what we've able to build from sport from a business standpoint. We are very honored to be part of this program and really look forward to helping the world get closer together. It's my pleasure to introduce our CEO, Dana White, and there's - I could talk a long - tell you a lot of stories about Dana.
But one thing I will say is this guy is an incredible diplomat. He might not be a professional diplomat like those in this room, but he is an incredible and accomplished diplomat. I've seen him with heads of state from around the world. I've seen him navigate difficult situations in China, Russia - all over the world, this guy has been. And it's his personality, it's his ethos that sort of embodies the entire UFC organization.
And so, Dana, the UFC, we're incredibly excited to be part of this program. With that, I want to hand it off to our chief diplomat. He's our CEO, but I consider him our chief diplomat, our secretary of state, Dana White. (Laughter and applause.)
MR WHITE: Thank you, everybody. Thanks for coming today. I don't know how I could say it better than those two did, but obviously we come from very humble beginnings - when we first bought this company 25 years ago. And we believed at that time that this thing would work everywhere and would work all over the world. I've always had this philosophy that, thank God, ended up being true: It doesn't matter what color you are, what country you come from, what language you speak - we're all human beings and fighting's in our DNA. We get it and we like it.
I've laid in my hotel room in England many times trying to figure out cricket - never going to happen. But fighting, in any language, as humans, we all get it. And what's been fascinating in our run over the last 25 years is how when we go into these different countries, presidents of the countries or royal families from these different countries, everybody loves the fights. And more importantly, if somebody looks like you, talks like you, and comes from where you come from, and they're looked at as the best in the world when it comes to fighting, the entire country rallies around them and it's a pretty powerful thing.
So I want to thank Secretary Rubio for all of his support and, like Lawrence said, we are absolutely honored to be here and to be a part of this.
Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)
SECRETARY RUBIO: It's my turn to speak, right? Is it my turn? (Laughter.) Well, listen, this is an exciting - first of all, it'll be an exciting weekend, but an exciting opportunity to sign this. It's totally logical for us to do it.
I want to make a couple points. People may ask, well, why? Why UFC? We had this deal with the NFL too, but why UFC? So I have a couple reasons why that I think is very powerful. Here's the first.
The first is America and the ideal behind America is the impossible, that someone tells you you can't do that or that's never going to happen. The whole idea of America is audacious. The very idea of America that you could have a country where - founded on the principle that your rights come not from your government or from your leaders, your rights come from your creator, was an audacious idea. No one else believed that at the world at that time, and that's the foundation.
But then beyond that, everything we've done since then as a nation time and again. And how can you achieve some of the things? We're going to put a man on the moon? When President Kennedy announced that we were going to put a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth, no one thought that was possible, and we did it. We are a nation founded on doing what no one else dared to do and no one else aspired to do.
And at some level that's what this whole company, what UFC, has been. You see, mixed martial arts is not new. It's been around now for about 30 years, I would say, maybe 35. But there were no rules. There was no structure. I remember the early fights; I used to watch them back in the day, and it was - you could get like a 170-pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu guy fighting a 250-pound heavyweight who was a striker. It was like, how did - how do you put this - the rules weren't clarified.
And Dana and the people around him had a vision, and that is to create a structure around this company to give it rules, to define it by weight class, to structure the events, and it attracted some of the best athletes in the world. And what you've built now is this global company that not so long ago would have seemed impossible. Back in the day when boxing commissions - that's what they're called, or athletic commissions - were a little bit reluctant to give you permits to stage these fights or put on these events or when no one knew what it was, you were able to plow through that. And today you have one of the most recognizable American sports brands on the planet, and in and of itself I think reflects so much the American spirit is reflected in the American - in this American company.
Here's the second point. It truly is the United Nations of fighting. If you think about the number of countries that are represented - and I think that roster will continue to grow, Lawrence. I really do. I think the number of people and champions you're going to get from around the world will continue to be added. And I can tell you this is true and I can tell you about your global reach because the President - now, I have another job and spend a lot of time at the White House. The number of foreign leaders that want to come to this is unbelievable. It's to the point where we may have a diplomatic crisis - (laughter) - because it's like we can't bring everybody. And so they follow - and some of them don't even have a fighter in the fight from their country. They just want to come because they are fans of the sport and they follow it.
But to be honest with you, some of the countries that are represented in these fights, most Americans - because it's not their job to track this - have never heard of that country in their life, have never heard about their country, have never heard about that person or where they came from, until they saw a fighter from that nation step into the ring. And between that and the bios that sometimes come with the profiles leading up to the fight, it is also educating Americans about cultures, societies all over the world.
The third is the power of convening. We have very few things left in our society, and I would say in the world, that convenes us all. We are so divided by so many different things. We get our news from different places. We follow different accounts online. We do everything separate from one another in this country, and I would say increasingly around the world. We are so polarized. There are only a handful of things that bring people together in one place at one time united by their interest in one thing, and we need more of those. We need more of those forums and those settings in which you can bring people together to enjoy something together and find something in common.
And if you've been to UFC fights - and I've been to many - and you look into the crowd, the crowd is as diverse as you can imagine. And I'm not talking about ethnic background. I'm talking about economic background. I'm talking about social background. I'm talking about geographic. This is one of those few things we have left in our country, and I would say in the world, that brings so many people from so many different places, so many different backgrounds, and so many different points of view together for a few hours to enjoy one thing in common. And the bonding power of that is incredible and it's something we want to share with the world, which is why making sports diplomacy is so - it's such an important agreement we're going to sign today.
The last point I would make is these - it is my view, and I could - I am very impressed by a man who's 6'9" or 6'10" that can run like a gazelle and dunk a basketball. Well, if you're 6'10", I mean, the rim is only 10 feet tall so you're half - more than halfway there. (Laughter.) But I'm very - I think NBA players are incredible athletes. I always say that there are plenty of people in the NBA that could play in the NFL, and I love the NFL, but I don't think there are very many people in the NFL that could play in the NBA.
But it is my personal view, my personal view, that some of, if not the, greatest fighters in the - the greatest athletes in the world are the men and women on your roster. Because it doesn't just involve endurance and strength. It involves physical courage. It involves the ability to fight through pain. In fact, we were - was it in Miami a few weeks ago? We were watching one of the fights, and I don't want to call anybody out, but I think the guy - did he tear his ACL in that second - the last fight, Dana? Somebody - his knee was hurt, like he would not have made it to that second round. And he scored in the last 30 seconds a knockout. If you think about the courage - like, if I tear my ACL, like, I'm done, right? (Laughter.) Most people, like, you tear your ACL or you blow out your knee - he blew out his knee - you're done. And this guy went another two and a half minutes with a blown-out knee and scored a last-second knockout. Because if he - he probably doesn't even make it out of the corner in the second round because he's in danger with a lame leg like that.
Think about the courage that takes. Think about how inspiring that is for the crowd to see something like that. It speaks to the human spirit. And you very rarely get to see that anymore in many other sports. And this is not a criticism of any of those sports, but it's a testament to this one, and why we're so excited not just about Sunday night but we're excited about what this brand means about America's ability to expand and reach out to different parts of the world. You will see these cards, hosting the 17 or 18 different jurisdictions. That's going to - that's going to grow in my opinion. And as you grow, more countries that you go to and do this, but in the end it will be an American company and an American brand that's bringing this sport - even though it may be their fighters bringing this sport - to those places. And that is the definition of American soft diplomatic power.
And so we're excited to sign this today and we're really excited about Sunday. We're never going to see anything like that again, guys, ever. I was there late last night. They were testing the pyrotechnics. I'm not going to give away anything other than to say their work was good. (Laughter.) Secret Service wasn't as excited by the explosions, but everybody else. (Laughter.) And what they have built out there is phenomenal. We'll never see it again, although the President's threatening to leave it permanently. You heard that, right? Yeah. He's threatening to leave the - I just don't know. Maybe we'll just host weekly fights between people in politics - (laughter) - and settle our scores that way.
But all kidding aside, Sunday is an unbelievable, historic, I think never-to-be-repeated-until-next-year experience - (laughter) - for the American people. To be able to see a sport - this is where I want to close. And I made this point earlier. We were doing a little interview about it.
The White House is the people's house. It belongs to the people of the United States. The America 250 celebration belongs to the people of the United States. And there are millions and millions of Americans from all walks of life that are not necessarily attuned to politics or the financial markets or anything else, but they love this sport. And every Saturday, if you've got a big event once a month, they're tuning in and they're watching and they hosted a - for them to be able to see this event with their White House in the background as part of our celebration as a country and our 250 years, I think is a gift to the American people. That's what Sunday is about. It's a gift to the American people. They're going to see their White House in their capital on their nation's birthday celebrating with a historic event.
We could have had a band, and we have great bands. We could have done a Shakespeare in the Park production. There are a lot of things we could have done with it. But this one will have people watching - probably over what, a billion people all over the world. A billion people all over the world will be watching America celebrate its 250th birthday with the White House in the background and some of the best athletes in the world in that octagon, and we're happy to be a part of that and we're happy to be a part of all the things we're going to be working on together in the years to come.
So thank you, guys. Thank you, guys, for covering it. Thank you, guys, for coming. The State Department - a lot of people here work at the State Department. We have members of the Diplomatic Corps. They get invited to a lot of meetings, but not many like this one. (Laughter.) So this is great. Thank you. All right. (Applause.)
(The Memorandum of Understanding was signed.)
(Applause.)
