‘We Broke the Arena Record’- Dana White Reveals Big News on UFC 261

Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman will to lock horns again at UFC 261 in what will be a rematch between the duo. The card will see two more title fights take place as Weili Zhang will defend her strawweight belt against Rose Namajunas. Also, Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade will clash with the women’s flyweight strap on the line.

The pay-per-view in Jacksonville, Florida will mark the return of crowds to the arena in the USA. And UFC President Dana White has already revealed that the UFC 262 pay-per-view will also take place with the crowd in attendance.

So, when asked if it’s only for those two events or the UFC is looking to host pay-per-views with an audience on board from now on, White said, “No, I’m gonna go everywhere that they that they’re willing to sell out so right now with the presale in Jacksonville. We broke the arena record already so expect this thing to go on sale tomorrow, sell out in seconds and we broke the arena record on the presale.”

The news of the UFC 261 pay-per-view already breaking the arena record shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as people would have leaped at the offer of being able to watch a live UFC event after such a long time. Furthermore, Masvidal‘s involvement will bring some extra eyeballs in as the Miami native is one of the biggest stars in the sport currently.

Will UFC 261 pave the way for UFC events to come?

The UFC’s decision to whether or not to hold pay-per-view with crowds is dependent on the amount of success the event in Jacksonville, Florida gets. There are many protocols and rules that have to be maintained throughout for conducting such a huge show amidst a public gathering.

But the UFC has shown the way for other sports too, during the time of the pandemic. They were the first mainstream organization to conduct any sort of event. Dana White and Co. deserve full credit for what they have done as it helped people to stay entertained during the toughest of times.

Is UFC 261’s success an indication of bigger things to come in terms of crowd involvement? Share your thoughts.

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