“Tonight’s BKFC KnuckleMania V at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly saw an attendance of 17,762—surpassing any MMA or boxing event in modern Philadelphia history,” said Conor McGregor. Philadelphia’s support has given BKFC the much-needed push to enter lucrative markets, directly challenging the UFC’s dominance in its own backyard. But does UFC CEO Dana White consider BKFC a legitimate competitor? Well, the answer might surprise you.

While having a conversation with ‘The Mac Life’, the UFC CEO was asked about the BKFC success in Philadelphia, to which Dana White said, “It made sense to me because, when you look at some of these markets that I haven’t gone to in a long time—Seattle, which is going to break the North American record for the gate for a Fight Night again—yeah, and then you got Chicago, you got Philly, you know, a lot of places that we haven’t been in a few years.”

The statement holds true, considering that the UFC has largely ignored the Philadelphia market for quite some time. The last time the UFC visited Philadelphia was in 2019 for UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje. According to the revealed stats, that event had an attendance of 11,123 and earned $1,102,542.16 in total gates.

Well, it is quite true that Pennsylvania has a thirst for combat sports which has yet to be properly quenched, but does BKFC’s success mean that Dana White is a bit bothered? Well, the reality is a bit different, “But yeah, when people ask me about you—and I’m not saying this to be arrogant or whatever—I don’t consider any of those guys competition anymore. I don’t even… yeah, if this new organization that’s popping up is paying a lot of these older fighters and these guys can make money, awesome. I’m all for it. But I don’t even think about that stuff anymore. It’s not on my radar whatsoever.”

Shaking the throne of the UFC is no small task and Dana White certainly doesn’t believe that anyone within the combat sports segment has the capability to even come close to UFC. Interestingly, the UFC CEO doesn’t even look at GFL as a competition as well.

Dana White laughs it off when asked about GFL

GFL is making big moves by drafting some major names to their roster, including Paige VanZant, Chris Weidman, and most recently, former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. The promotion has been aggressively signing former UFC fighters, investing a significant amount of money to build a powerhouse roster. However, does this even budge the UFC CEO? Certainly not.

While having a conversation with the media, the UFC CEO was asked about GFL’s aggressive strategy for acquiring former UFC fighters, to which Dana White stated, “No, I don’t think it’s blowing smoke. I think these guys are blowing real cash. These guys are throwing a lot of money around, and uh, good for the fighters. It’s good for them. But, you know, no, I don’t know anything about his business plan or what his deal is. But no, I don’t consider any combat sports my competition.”

He further added, “My competition is the NFL, college football, soccer, and big movies that come out on Saturdays. I don’t look at other combat sports as my competitors.” Dana White is looking at a broader market as he has already dominated the MMA sector. However, will the UFC CEO be able to win over the larger audience? State your thoughts in the comments below.