Dana White Dismisses UFC Saudi Arabia Rumors as “Nonsense”
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was gearing up for an unprecedented debut in Saudi Arabia on March 2nd, a plan that has now shifted to June. Amidst swirling rumors, UFC President Dana White has been vocal in dispelling the speculation. Notably, MMA reporter Ariel Helwani suggested the postponement was due to dissatisfaction from Saudi leaders over the event’s lineup, which lacked big-name fighters.
However, in a recent conversation with Aaron Bronsteter, White clarified the situation, firmly denying any quality issues with the event. “We postponed the card, and I know there’s been a lot of talk about the card not being good enough,” White stated. Contrary to reports, White emphasized that the Saudi partners hadn’t even seen the matchups, labeling the rumors as complete “nonsense.”
Dana White on building UFC 300, UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia and more.
Full interview coming soon to https://t.co/KUls4CFwuU pic.twitter.com/eXrGlf9d6V
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 18, 2024
Dana White to Aaron Bronsteter: “We postponed the card, and I know there’s been a lot of talk about the card not being good enough.”
Dana White: “We never even presented the card to them. We didn’t show Saudi Arabia a single match, so it’s nonsense. All of it was nonsense.”
Dana White: “What we wanted to do is – every time UFC puts on a show, we want it to excite the audience. We want people to get hyped.”
White’s commitment to electrifying UFC fans remains unwavering. “What we aim to do is – every time UFC puts on a show, we want it to excite the audience. We want people to get hyped,” he explained.
Moreover, White confirmed that the event wouldn’t be a Pay-Per-View (PPV) but a Fight Night, as initially planned. This counters Helwani’s suggestion of a potential PPV format. The delay, according to White, was to ensure delivering an event that lives up to UFC’s standards, not due to any rejection of matchups by Saudi officials.
Preliminary Card for UFC Saudi Arabia:
- Flyweight: Mohammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez
- Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev
- Middleweight: Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
- Lightweight: Joel Alvarez vs. Ludovit Klein
- Bantamweight: Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Bantamweight: Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Vinicius Oliveira
- Lightweight: Brendon Marotte vs. Mohammad Yahya
- Lightweight: Abdul-Kerim Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov
