Dana White has touched down in Saudi Arabia, ahead UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia. Ahead of the event, Turki Alalshikh, the man behind all the boxing mega-fights in the kingdom and his representatives gave the UFC president a warm welcome.
If the UFC Saudi Arabia event does well, we will get to see more fights taking place in the Middle Eastern Kingdom, just as was the case in boxing. Dana White even posted a video of the welcome he received.
“I’m PUMPED for our first fight in The Kingdom.”
I’m PUMPED for our first fight in The Kingdom. @Turki_alalshikh #RiyadhSeason @RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/xmDTCs7hiS
— danawhite (@danawhite) June 21, 2024
White has made sure the UFC Saudi Arabia card is a stacked one, with the likes of Robert Whittaker, Sergei Pavlovich, Kelvin Gastelum, and Jonny Walker. Khamzat Chimaev was initially set to headline the card against Whittaker. However, due to a severe illness, he had to pull out.
Regardless, White hopes that his replacement Ikram Aliskeriv puts on a show. Although it is not a PPV event, a Fight Night event in Saudi Arabia to test the waters is just what the company needs right now.
However, Dana White seems more concerned about the state of boxing than anything else right now.
Dana White claims boxing got so ‘f*cked’ up that Saudi Arabia had to take over
Dana White, fighter pay, and boxing, these are three topics that always come up together. The UFC president has always been very vocal about fighter pay in the UFC despite being the target of a lot of criticism.
In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, White compared fighter pay in boxing to that in the UFC and essentially implied that it had ruined the former to a point where nobody cared if they were making any money.
“Boxing got so f***ed up that nobody could actually make a living out of it, that Saudi Arabia had to take it over. A group of people that have so much money, they don’t care whether they make or lose money.”
Dana White talks UFC fighter pay and compares it to boxing:
“Boxing got so f***ed up that nobody could actually make a living out of it, that Saudi Arabia had to take it over. A group of people that have so much money, they don’t care whether they make or lose money.
That’s how… pic.twitter.com/tI0byNOERL
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 19, 2024
White also called out ‘scumbag’ reporters who create a notion of UFC fighter pay being below par. White does not agree with them and believes that his organization is currently doing better than boxing in terms of putting on successful events.
Despite White’s proclamations, there have been several reports over the years of fighters leaving the company and talking about the stark difference in pay compared to other combat sports and combat sport companies.
