Two rivals will sit closer to each other when they watch the action up close at Noche UFC. Dana White will welcome Oscar De La Hoya with a forced smile, as the latter will enter the coveted Las Vegas Sphere instead of joining his fraternity at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga bill. The combat sports community is aware of the deep strife between the two promoters and is still wondering how that will happen. It seems the UFC CEO has laid bare the genius play of his boxing counterpart.

De La Hoya recently specified his intentions to skip the Alvarez vs. Berlanga card, as he labeled the event “robbery.” Instead, the former Olympic Gold medalist expressed his desire to watch Noche UFC a few streets away on the same block. But that seemed far-fetched reality until he dialed up his ally, HE Turki Alalshikh.

Interestingly, Riyadh Season is the title sponsor of Noche UFC, and as a result, the Saudi adviser has his own separate ticket block. De La Hoya is part of the same ticket block and will have access to the near-cage seats. White, 55, shed light on the situation when he appeared at the Contender Series 71 press conference.

The UFC lynchpin said, “Well, I got that call today. He’s coming with Sheikh Turki. He is part of his ticket block. I knew he wasn’t part of my ticket block. That’s for damn sure. Oscar does things that are good for Oscar at the moment.”

While White then discussed Alvarez, 34, and Al Haymon’s decision to host the event on the same date, he was respectful towards both. He blamed MGM for the clash of dates. But now it seems he might have another tough task, to accommodate De La Hoya, the same man whom he tried to “bury.”

How did Dana White and Oscar De La Hoya become rivals?

It all started with De La Hoya’s intention to venture into the MMA. The boxer-turned-promoter even hosted the trilogy fight between the two MMA greats, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, in 2018 as his first fight. However, because of their age and health concerns, he received scathing criticism, with White also ripping him apart. But De La Hoya saw it differently.

He told Shannon Sharpe, “When I first thought about getting into MMA, I strongly felt that he [Dana White] just wanted to bury me, not have competition. He started talking s–t about me.” The two have been at loggerheads since, with all talks of becoming friends tossed to the bin. It remains to be seen how the encounter at Noche UFC affects their animosity.

What do you make of this step by Oscar De La Hoya to attend Noche UFC and meet Dana White? Let us know in the comments below.