UFC CEO Dana White denied claims that the company’s UFC Fight Night card in Saudi Arabia was canceled because the country was not pleased with the lineup. According to the executive, the move was the company’s choice due to some conflicts.
Days ago, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani shared that the event was canceled, saying that people behind the event in Saudi wanted “a more entertaining fight card, a deeper fight card with bigger names on it.” The journalist also appeared unsurprised about the news, pointing out that instead of a PPV, the giant was just offering a Fight Night. Days later, PFL Chairman Donn Davis commented on the matter, lifting up the name of his promotion in the process.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the UFC March 2 card was canceled the day before our fight [announcement],” Davis said on The MMA Hour. “Those who know MMA said, ‘That is not a mega-event. That is not worthy of being hosted in Saudi Arabia. That is a poor fight-quality card the UFC put forth on March 2.’
“Could UFC load up a card and have a mega-card? They could! Do they do it that often? They don’t. We’re going to do it every time we do it, and so our partners who are host partners, like Saudi Arabia — our partners who are PPV partners like DAZN or ESPN+, they know they can count on us for these two fights a year, best of the best of the best. That’s how we’re thinking about it in terms of the business model going forward.”
White, however, denied every single detail of the news, saying the company itself made the decision to reschedule the event and added that it still has a promising lineup despite only being a Fight Night.
“We moved the card, and I know there’s been a lot of talk about the card wasn’t good enough,” White said in an interview with Aaron Bronsteter of Sportsnet. “We never even proposed a card to them. We didn’t tell Saudi Arabia about one fight. So, that’s all bullsh*t.
“We never even proposed a card to them. What we wanted to do is, every time the UFC puts on an event, we want to blow the doors off the place. We want people to be excited. So it was our first fight ever in Saudi Arabia, and a couple of fights that we wanted to line up, they weren’t ready to go.
“So, we pushed the card back because we’re going to deliver. But never once was one fight proposed to Saudi Arabia, and they were like, ‘Yeah, no. This isn’t good enough.’”
