UFC and RIZIN might be up to something, with the latter’s CEO, Nobu Sakakibara, revealing “a secret” was discussed during his visit.
Sakakibara shared photos of his visit to the UFC headquarters in Las Vegas. No details of the meeting were shared by the Japanese MMA promoter, but the move might be hinting at a possible collaboration of the two companies.
砂漠地帯のラスベガスではとても珍しく一日中雨が降る中、UFC本社に赴きダナとMTGして来ました。
どんなことを話したかは…秘密です。笑
悪しからず！#RIZIN pic.twitter.com/DTLRAEKgma— 榊󠄀原信行 Nobuyuki Sakakibara (@nobu_sakakibara) February 7, 2024
This would be a surprise since White recently expressed his displeasure about making collaborations, especially with PFL. When asked about a possible cross-platform work between the two companies to push the Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight, the executive called the query “the dumb question of the night.”
“Should I (co-promote with PFL)?” White said in November. “We’ve got 1, 2 and 3 (in MSG history). They can’t sell a f*cking gate. It’s a stupid question, but go ahead. Talk to me. Why would I do that?”
Things, however, seem to be making a change now, with White making meetings with other promotion bosses. Aside from Sakibara, the UFC executive also met BKFC President David Feldman. The bare-knuckle company exec didn’t share specifics of the meeting but noted that he was creating an “ally” in UFC, despite his belief that bare-knuckle and MMA are two different sports.
“It was more of just creating an ally,” Feldman said. “That’s really all I have to say. It was great meeting, he’s a great guy. He’s doing his thing with UFC, and we’re going to do our thing with BKFC. We’re going to be the biggest combat sport on the planet.”
