“We’re Already Talking About Next Year”: Billionaire Businessman and Utah Jazz Owner Ryan Smith Proposes a New Partnership With Dana White’s UFC After a Successful UFC 291 Event

The UFC held its second event in eleven months in Utah this past Saturday. UFC 291 made for some of the most exciting moments of the year. Following the success of the recent pay-per-view, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith proposed a new idea for their partnership with Dana White‘s promotion.

UFC has been successful with the two events they held in Utah. Both UFC 278 and 291 were sold out and saw a packed arena for the events. Seeing this, Ryan Smith has a new proposition for the world’s biggest MMA promotion. Let’s see what he had in mind for the UFC in the future.

Ryan Smith wants the UFC to become “the staple of the summer”

After the success of UFC 291, Ryan Smith mentioned that he is already having conversations with the UFC brass regarding what lies ahead in the future. During the post-fight pressers, he said, “We’re already talking about next year.” Smith also mentioned the fact that Utah is the fastest-growing American state is what excites him about his partnership with the UFC.

He added, “I think you’ve got the fastest-growing state in the country [and] I think you’ve got the youngest state in the country. It’s what brings me to want to go do what we’re doing in sports and our partnership with UFC.”

Furthermore, looking at the results of UFC 291 and how good the show was, Ryan Smith proposed a new plan. He is hoping to see the promotion hold its events in Utah during the summer. Smith further added, “We’re literally working to have an amazing event here and hopefully like the staple of the summer.” Moreover, he and the UFC are looking for bigger and better things for Utah in the future.

Ryan Smith is aiming to go big with Dana White after UFC 291

During the press conference, the Utah Jazz shareholder stated that he and the folks in the UFC are constantly engaging in conversations. They are looking to make the events bigger than they are now. Smith said, “I was just talking to folks about next year, what we can improve on, and how we can go bigger.”

Ryan Smith sees a lot of potential for UFC events in Utah and numbers show a lot of progress. He also claimed that Utah is easy for people to move around and get to venues and that’s why everything works fine in the state. Smith added, “I think if you look at the numbers that will come out, they’re significantly better than last year.”

READ MORE: Why Did Dana White Miss UFC 291 Press Conference?

With the success of UFC 291, fans in Utah are wondering when they’ll come back next. However, there are no details regarding the next UFC event in the state. Dana White and Co. would look to continue putting on great fights and events after the results they had with their last event on July 29.

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