“One of the best moves we ever made” – Dana White and Teddy Atlas explain Marc Ratner’s importance to the UFC’s growth

Marc Ratner has long been the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the UFC. UFC president Dana White believes Ratner’s inclusion was pivotal to the growth of the promotion.

According to White, Ratner’s extensive experience as a commissioner played an important role in his hiring. What was even more important for White was the respect Ratner commanded from other commissioners. The UFC president also revealed that Ratner shall stay with the promotion for a long time to come.

White believes that bringing in Marc Ratner was one of the best moves the UFC has ever made. The UFC president told renowned boxing coach Teddy Atlas in a recent interview:

“First of all, Mark Ratner had been on the commission for so many years, done so many big fights. But the most important thing is how respected he was by all the other commissioners, you know what I mean. So respected. And you know, it ended up being one of the best moves we ever made.”

Watch Dana White’s interview with Teddy Atlas below:

Teddy Atlas on Marc Ratner

A seasoned referee, Marc Ratner served as the executive director of the NSAC before signing with the UFC in 2006. Over the years, Ratner has played a crucial role in giving MMA the credibility of a legitimate sport.

Already an inductee in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, Ratner was recently inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame as well. Teddy Atlas believes bringing Ratner into the UFC was an important move in the company’s budding stage. Atlas said of Marc Ratner:

“For years he was the commissioner in Vegas, of all the boxing. And he was one of the most prominent commissioners in the country quite frankly. He ran a good show, he ran a good ship. And when you hired him to come over and to leave boxing and to come over to the UFC as the commissioner, the regulatory chief, whatever title it was, I don’t know. But basically to be the commissioner, I thought it was a brilliant move. But I thought it was an important move at that stage in the UFC’s beginning.”

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