Dana White, Ultimate Fighting Championship president, is on a roll. From the first "blankety-blank hello" to the last "blankety-blank nice-talking-to-ya," he's cursing like a sailor without even realizing it.

His profanity comes across so naturally you really don't give a blank.

You're mostly concerned with the "special spot" in his heart he says he has for both Hawai'i and Hilo's BJ Penn, and the fascinating tales he unleashes of how he and the Fertitta brothers turned the UFC into a recession-proof money magnet.

And for now, no fight is bigger for the UFC and the mixed martial-arts world than Penn vs. Georges St-Pierre on Saturday in Las Vegas.

A little history: The UFC was a doormat eight years ago, when White convinced his billionaire friends, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, to buy the struggling fight league for $2 million. White was then the lone employee.

Today, buoyed by "The Ultimate Fighter" — the testosterone-filled Spike TV show that puts 12 MMA fighters in one house for six weeks with no TV or radio, but plenty of booze — the UFC now has more than 100 employees with offices in Las Vegas, New York and London.

At last count Ultimate Fighter episodes and UFC fight cards were being televised in more than 180 countries and in 22 languages. Time magazine, in 2007, estimated the UFC's worth at more than a billion dollars, and growing fast.

"The only thing that's stopping us from growing bigger faster is time," White said. "There should be more than 24 hours in a day, bro'. I'm telling you, we're going to be in Germany, the Philippines, Japan. ... I can find a (beeping) fighter today in any (beeping) country and put on a card. It's that big."

White won't release financial figures, but he says the biggest UFC pay-per-view to date was the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture late last year.

"Penn vs. GSP will smash that," White said bluntly. "You're looking at two great fighters in their prime who are both popular. It's going to be a (blanking) war and I have no idea who will win.

"When you work with these guys you get a connection with all of them," White said. "But with BJ it's a little different, because of our past. I wish he'd focus more on fighting than on www.bjpenn.com. He loves talking about his (blanking) Web site. Too much.

"Right now he is one of the best fighters in the world, but in fighting you have a small window to go down as one of the greatest ever and be mentioned with the Jack Johnsons, Sugar Rays and Muhammad Alis.

"I want to see BJ reach his potential and go for it, so I irritate his (butt). I'm all over him all the time. I care about him. Georges is an incredible guy, too."

Part of White's fondness for Penn may be because Penn is one of the rare fighters who comes to Vegas not to gamble, but to pick White's brain about business.

White answered several questions about the UFC heading into Saturday's fight:

Q. "The Ultimate Fighter": Putting 12 MMA fighters in a house with no TV or radio, but plenty of booze — that's just waiting for the fireworks to happen. Brilliant.

A. (Laughs) There's more to it than that. I put alcohol in the house because they're grown men. They're not UFC fighters yet, they want to be UFC fighters. What I do is give them every opportunity to make it, but I want to see what they're really like. Are they going to blow it by acting like a bunch of idiots? I want to see their personalities and just how screwed up they are. With the show you get to see everything.

Q. The house always gets trashed. Who pays for it?

A. We rent the houses and pay for any damages after the season. After Season 7 when the fighters tore the bannister down, that changed. That thing cost 80 grand to replace. Now, if they do something stupid and break something, they pay for it. It's too much money.

Q. Any chance the UFC will come to Hawai'i to put on a fight card?

A. There are some tax issues Hawai'i has to get worked out before that happens. They've jacked the taxes up so much for a fight card to come there that it is ridiculous. The GSP-Penn fight should be in Hawai'i. We were absolutely thinking about bringing it because it's such a huge fight market in Hawai'i. Our pay-per-views usually have a $12.5 million impact on the local economy. ... This fight could have packed Aloha Stadium. Can you imagine the fans coming in from Japan and all over the world for this one?

Q. You seem to know a lot about Hawai'i's love of mixed martial arts.

A. I used to go to Hawai'i all the time to watch the local fights. It's been a hotbed for fighters for forever. ... People on the Mainland don't realize the fight culture in Hawai'i. You have a lot of scrappy Hawaiians.

Q. Where does Dana White go to eat and play in Hawai'i?

A. When we came in December we stayed at Halekulani. Dude, I've been in hotels around the world and hands down, that place is awesome. ... Every day I'd eat at Kua 'Aina Burger. I love shopping in Waikiki, too. I'd go to the Cold Stone Creamery almost every day. When I was younger I'd surf, but you gotta be the real deal to surf in the winter in Hawai'i. I don't go there anymore.

Q. When I first saw you on TV I thought you were the anti-Don King as a fight promoter. He has the wild hair and screams "This is America!" You're bald and come across quiet. But then you tried to fight one of your stars (Tito Ortiz), you schedule fight cards directly against Affliction and other MMA organizations and you curse like nobody I've ever heard. What gives?

A. (Laughs) That stuff just sort of happens. I'm easy-going until someone gets me fired up. I knew Tito would back out because he's a big (wimp). His girlfriend (Jenna Jameson, former adult-film star) didn't think it would be good for his career to fight me. The rest is business.

Q. We know you used to box. Tell me one thing people would be surprised to learn about Dana White.

A. You know what's sick and pathetic? All I do is live and breathe UFC. I get a workout in every day and work, that's all I do. My free moments are spent with my 2-year-old daughter and my boys, 6 and 7. Right now they're learning muay thai from Wanderlei Silva. Not a bad coach, huh?

Q. What's next?

A. We started the UFC with an eight-year game plan. ... This is year nine. We want the rest of the world. We're going global.