Dana White has hit back at claims that the UFC’s first card in Saudi had been postponed due to the lack of quality on show.

Reports indicated that the UFC was meant to have its first fight on March 2, 2024, in Riyadh. It was scheduled as a UFC Fight Night event, only for things to take a turn for the worse. MMA reporter Ariel Helwani revealed that the date had been moved with a possible card in June. This was because the UFC failed to deliver a big-name fight. It could have been better given the Saudis had allegedly shelled out $20 million for the site fee. At the time of the announcement, the UFC stayed silent, playing into Helwani’s comments.

Helwani On The UFC

"I’m being told, via sources, that the planned March 2nd UFC event in Saudi Arabia is being postponed and the target is June. I was told that the reason for the postponement is because the powers that be in Saudi Arabia want a more entertaining fight card. They want a deeper fight card with bigger names on it, weren’t too pleased with what was being offered," Helwani said 

Those comments have to be read in light of the wider context. The Saudis already had a big March lined up. They are staging the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight that is set to take place on March 8, 2024. Ngannou’s first boxing bout with Tyson Fury generated interest to see it again. The MMA fighter dropped the WBC heavyweight champion in a competitive bout. Despite losing, he managed to secure the Joshua bout. Therefore, any big card would not be accepted by the Saudis. And yet, White dismissed suggestions that the delay was due to a poor card.

White Responds

“We moved the card, and I know there’s been a lot of talk about the card wasn’t good enough. We never even proposed a card to them. [And] we didn’t tell Saudi Arabia about one fight. So, that’s all bulls**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,’ White stated 

It needs to be clarified where the UFC goes moving forward. The rise of the Kingdom’s involvement in boxing shows an increasing demand to see combat sports. The UFC has not gotten a foothold in the country, showing it still has some way to go before it can impact the region. That will be the plan moving forward.

Strickland Vs. Du Plessis

From one controversy to another, the UFC 297 presser between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis was dominated by an incident involving a fan rushing on stage. The anticipation for the presser had been building following their altercation at UFC 296. During Leon Edwards’ title defence against Colby Covington, Strickland and Du Plessis had an altercation in the crowd.

Strickland began punching the South African as security intervened to separate things. It came in response to Du Plessis’ controversial comments about bringing up Strickland’s abusive childhood at the hands of his father. Things were more cordial during the presser as Strickland praised Du Plessis for being one of the few who got under his skin.

The crowd was receptive to the Middleweight Champion, but it all came to a head when a member showed how much of a fan he was of the American. The following clip shows the fan rushing on the stage and shaking Strickland’s hand in a show of respect. He was then tackled by security, who took him away. 

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