The government of Saudi Arabia is on a blitz to promote the kingdom as a sports hub. Having made big moves in soccer and golf, the monarchy seems poised to make itself a combat sports hub. It hosted the Fury-Ngannou boxing match last October, followed by the ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing megacard, and will be the site of the upcoming heavyweight unification bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Not to mention the Joshua-Ngannou heavyweight clash for the virtual no. 1 title contender for the undisputed title which is set for March 8. The first PFL vs. Bellator card which will feature champions from both organizations fighting each other is scheduled for late February. And the UFC is not far behind, and will put on its first card at the Gulf country this year. Shortly after, reports emerged the Saudis were unhappy about the quality of the card and lack of big names. UFC CEO Dana White, in his UFC 297 post-fight press conference addressed these rumors.
Dana White rubbishes reports Saudis unhappy with card
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The UFC had announced a UFC Fight Night card headlined by Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev for March 2024 this year. However, the card was later pushed back reportedly to sometime in June. MMA journalist and Dana White’s nemesis, Ariel Helwani had reported according to his sources that the card had been postponed because the Saudis, who are paying the UFC $20 million in site fees, felt the card was not worth their investment.
On being asked whether these reports are true, Dana White vehemently denied it. He claimed that while the reports of the card being postponed were true, he was the one who had requested the card be postponed as some of the big names he wanted on the card were not available.
“Total bulls**. That’s a f**ing lie. I don’t know who started it or how it started but not one fight was announced for Saudi. I called and asked them to push the card back. Cos we had a couple of guys we want on the card and they weren’t ready,” he told reporters.
The Las Vegas resident praised the scale and ambition of Saudi events. While its inaugural card in the kingdom would not be a PPV event, White stated the UFC was planning to put on the best Fight Night card they’ve ever done. For good measure, the UFC boss called Ariel Helwani, who reported on the Saudis alleged unhappiness with the card, a “f***ing liar” even as he refrained from taking the journalist’s name.
“You know how we are, we deliver. If we’re going to Saudi Arabia at the level that these guys do things. It’s a Fight Night but we want to make it the best Fight Night we’ve ever done. Anybody who came out and said it s because the card wasn’t good is a f***ing liar,” White declared. The UFC boss was then asked about whether UFC megastar Conor McGregor may make an appearance on the first Saudi card.
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White confirms Conor McGregor will not feature on Saudi card
Turki Alalshik, Suadi Arabia’s Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment, said in a recent interview with boxing journalist Ade Oladipo that they were in talks with the UFC to have megastar Conor McGregor feature on the upcoming UFC card or at a future event. White was asked if there was any possibility of McGregor being featured on the UFC’s first card in Saudi Arabia. “No,” White chuckled. However, the UFC CEO seemed impressed with the enthusiasm and passion.
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“But I love it though. The thing is with Saudi Arabia, these guys are like, ‘yeah bring us the best you got and we’ll pay for it, we’ll do this, we’ll do that’. For us it’s not about the money or anything, we always wanna put on the best card we can,” White said. What do you think about Dana White’s claims? Do you think Helwani’s report was inaccurate, or is the UFC boss trying to save face? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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