“The Brand Has Never Been Stronger Than it is Right Now”- Dana White Opens Up On UFC’s 2020 Plans

UFC President Dana White spoke to the media at a pre-fight scrum ahead of UFC on ESPN-13 via MMA Junkie. The UFC boss touched upon several updates pertaining to the recent inaugural UFC 251 pay-per-view that occurred in Abu Dhabi. Further, he also gave some insight as to the overall success that the promotion has experienced in 2020.

The presser was laid out for a mid-week fight card that is set to take place on Wednesday, July 15. Primarily, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is meant to help the UFC return to normalcy in terms of their schedule. Moreover, the promotion has been the only sporting organization to successfully churn out events during the pandemic.

Dana White pulls back the curtain

The company President detailed the over-arching impact that came with being a pioneer in the sports world. He aired out his views as to the ground that the promotion has managed to cover since their return.

“The brand has never been bigger or stronger than it is right now, I mean if you look at the ratings and the amount of promotion. I don’t know if you guys felt it the other day, you had to have felt it in your business.”

“My social media was off the charts, the biggest numbers I’ve ever pulled. The UFC’s numbers are off the charts. I told you guys the other day, the merchandise..we’ve already sold more merchandise this year than we did all of 2019, we already crushed that number from 2019.”

The global pandemic has, in many ways, maintained a stranglehold over several industries across the world. In light of these events, the move to Abu Dhabi has proven to be yet another savvy decision made by the organization.

“Obviously in a lot of ways it’s affected our business, there’s no live gate that’s a $110 million in that ballpark. But we’re still rolling, you have to look at the value that’s being built and the brand. The amount of fans that’s probably never watched before, and the list goes on and on.”

The UFC brass have once again managed to separate themselves from the pack with the massive strides being made. Additionally, with the rise of stars like Jorge Masvidal, the organization receives mainstream attention like never before.