Following the booking of Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight this summer, UFC boss Dana White has been described as the “only leader” during the recent pandemic five years ago.
Wait? How are the two connected? Well, Poirier and Max Holloway have already fought twice in the octagon before- one for the Hawaiian native at UFC 143 in 2012, and then seven years later at UFC 236 in 2019, right before the pandemic hit.
And since Poirier prevailed both times and convincingly, so does a third fight between the pair for the BMF title at UFC 318 make sense-even if it is the Louisiana native’s swan song?
Well, according to UFC veteran and co-host of the Good Guy/Bad Guy, Chael Sonnen, most UFC fans in 2025 have no idea that the pair have fought before. Sonnen blames it on the COVID pandemic.
However, crediting UFC boss Dana White’s role during the time, Sonnen said, “Don’t forget when COVID hit, when COVID hit, football’s (NFL) done, Baseball’s (MLB )done, basketball’s (NBA/WNBA) done, hockey’s (NHL) done.”
“The only person, the only leader that we had that stepped forward was Dana (White),” he added, noting that the UFC was the only live sporting event on air at the time
“But I remind you that because he then recaptured 70% of his audience“, the veteran analyst noted, explaining that following the pandemic, a huge portion of the UFC audience was just newbies getting into the sport.
And while that has its own drawbacks, it has also allowed the promotion to replay some of its greatest hits.
However, the pandemic also made the UFC realise that it could carry on putting on shows without much of an audience and get away with it. Due to its contract with ESPN, the promotion was also required to host a certain number of shows each calendar year, which meant an inevitable compromise in quality.
Now, since it was the only thing on TV during the pandemic, the UFC sort of got away with it. However, in the last couple of years, the promotions’ insistence on hosting fight nights at Apex with very little crowd has garnered severe criticism.
Add to its lack of superstars and a dull PPVs throughout the year, which can only be accessed by paying almost $80, and fans are miffed and to the point where reports suggest that ESPN had been unhappy with the promotion’s lack of pay-per-view buys.
And now, even former UFC stars are casting aspersions on the state of the business.
White warned against complacency
In attendance at WrestleMania 41 earlier this month in Las Vegas, White was shown front and center by the TKO Group Holdings brass at the Allegiant Stadium.
While impressed at the Mardi Gras like crowd at WWE’s marquee PPV of the year, White has yet to change his mind on outdoor arena shows.
White may well have his reasons, but he needs to do something different or begin losing combat sport audience to WWE’s sport entertainment extravaganza.
That’s according to former lightweight contender Din Thomas.
Voicing his concern for the product on offer from the UFC, the veteran head coach has claimed the promotion risks stagnating. – particularly when offered up against a scripted pro wrestling product hitting the masses once more.
Claiming that while unpredictability has given UFC moments like Max Holloway vs Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, it has also been wildly counterproductive.
“When we get Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou, it turns people off… these stinker fights that people go, you know what? I gave it a shot, but now I’m not going to stick with it,” he said.
“But pro wrestling is different because they script, — they script it “to make sure that you always engaged, right?” the former lightweight star explained.
But White is likely to remain unbothered. Returning to Missouri for UFC Kansas City over the weekend, the boss revealed a new record-setting gate, as well as a sold-out attendance at the T-Mobile Center for the lackluster card.
