| In todayâs FOX Sports Insider: Through all the changes and the bluster, the show will finally go on for Dana White and UFC … This time, barring some major last-minute snafu, Dana White is going to get it done. The Ultimate Fighting Championship president, perhaps the most relentless promoter in all of sports, wanted to keep the mixed martial arts show on the road even throughout the initial height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he is primed to be an early outlier in getting things going again. According to a series of recent interviews, White has no problem stating he really couldnât give a (expletive) about any naysayers who feel like the dangers of the coronavirus are still too real and present to consider putting on live sports, and heâll (expletive) well tell that to anyoneâs (expletive) face. |
Forgive the spicy language here, redactions notwithstanding, but White is a sporting creature who is both complex and straightforward â and listening to the scale, vehemence and frequency of his profanities actually offers something of an insight into his psyche. In short, when each sentence is punctuated with a proliferation of obscenities, it often means that things are going particularly well for White. In context, right now, they are. Think what you like of White, but he has never stopped grinding throughout this â and he is about to get his reward. On Saturday, UFC 249 is scheduled to finally take place, headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. A few weeks back, when White made his first stab at staging the card, he was full of bombast and optimism, claiming that he would find a way, any way, to put on a card amid a litany of paralyzing obstacles. |
As American life came to a halt, White bulldozed through one barrier after another, to eventually find a Native American casino in California willing to stage the contest, with its protected status thought enough to skirt around state lockdown orders. However, he was asked to stand down, prompting a fresh set of efforts and phone calls. With both Floridaâs governor, Ron DeSantis, and its state athletic commission on board, White has every reason to have a little swagger right now. âBefore the first attempt, Dana was saying things like, âTrust me, you know me.â In others words, he was backing himself to get it done, while acknowledging that it was going to be really hard,â Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel told me in a telephone conversation this week. âFor a long time, he wasnât even saying where the fight was going to be. Now, it is different. He is extremely confident that this will come off. Say what you like about him, but Dana White makes things happen. He doesnât like being told, âNo.â And public perception is not a real big concern of his.â Wetzel has known White for 15 years and was not surprised that the UFC chief found a way to power through all the tribulations. While some question the safety of bringing back live sports with the coronavirus still raging, Wetzel noted that MMA has some unique elements that make a return more workable. |
âIf you list the sports that are easiest to do, golf is the easiest â you have maybe 80 guys spread over acres and acres, outside,â Wetzel added. âBut UFC is in the mix. There are three people in the octagon, two fighters and a referee. Everyone else can be spread out. âI get that everyone thinks it is just about money, but there is definitely a part of (White) that just thinks that getting sports back is something that needs to be done, and that heâs the man to do it.â White doesnât do things by halves. Aware that Saturdayâs card is firmly in the spotlight, he ordered his matchmakers to stack it with appealing fights. Ferguson, riding a 12-fight winning streak, against Gaethje, one of the most entertaining action fighters in the organization, is a blockbuster main event. There is also a bantamweight title showdown between two-weight champion Henry Cejudo and former champ Dominick Cruz, while even the free-to-air undercard features popular athletes like Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone and Michelle Waterson. And then, the UFC plans to do it all again, with another card next Wednesday, and another on May 16. |
This period, and Saturdayâs show in particular, will be an intriguing test case. There will be no live fans, but it is a very worthy pay-per-view boasting perhaps the deepest lineup in years, albeit lacking a megastar crossover name such as a Conor McGregor. There isnât much else on, and it will be relentlessly promoted by ESPN, so numbers could be high, although counterbalancing that is the fact that many find themselves in uncertain financial circumstances these days. But White ploughs on regardless, with Saturday and what follows being the result of his refusal to press the pause button, no matter what. He knows there are plenty who question his approach, and even his sanity, and he really doesnât care. âNobody wants to be first, man,â White told Yahoo Sports. âNobody wants to be first and take that chance.â Dana White does. This weekend, he will. |
Hereâs what others have said … Dana White (via Sports Illustrated): âI don’t wanna die. I donât have a (expletive) death wish. I’m not out there trying to kill myself. And I don’t want to kill any of my employees or their families. It’s not like we’re running around with no plan. The thing is: Let’s find solutions. How do we get back as close to normal as we could possibly get? A 15,000- or 20,000-seat arena with no fans isn’t normal. A lot of things aren’t normal going into this event. But we’re trying to figure out how to make it as safe as possible. ⊠Let me put it this way: We’re gonna go so overboard making sure everybody is healthy and safe that I just don’t see how we can possibly (expletive) this up. ⊠My fighters and my employees have been told: If you’re not comfortable coming back to work, you don’t have to. It’s not like we’re in some dire financial situation, like that’s why I’m pushing this.â Arash Markazi, Los Angeles Times: âWhite would like to stage another UFC event at the companyâs training center in Las Vegas on May 23, but Nevadaâs stay-at-home orders are in place through at least May 15. White submitted the same proposal to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak as he did to DeSantis. It outlines the UFCâs plans to hold the events in a controlled environment, without fans, and with diagnostic swab COVID-19 tests and antibody tests administered to all fighters, corner people and officials upon arrival to one hotel that would house all essential personnel. âEverybody wants to be a part of this,â he said. âI talked to Conor [McGregor] yesterday and he wants to fight there. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] came out and said as soon as Ramadan is over, heâll be back training and heâll be back this summer. All of our athletes are ready to compete. Hopefully this weekend kicks it off and we get everybody back and give the world some sense of normalcy.ââ Marc Raimondi, ESPN: âWhile gym owners balance complying with new guidelines related to the coronavirus pandemic and helping fighters train, the athletes are looking for the best ways to prepare with fewer training partners than normal. That’s one of the main storylines for UFC 249 â finding out which fighters were able to get the most out of their training during these unprecedented circumstances. Donald Cerrone, who faces Anthony Pettis on Saturday, expects cardio to be a major factor. âThere’s going to be a lot of early stoppages and not very long fights, people are going to get tired quick,â Cerrone says. âI don’t know what a lot of these guys are training, or what they’re doing. … Is everyone just training in their backyards, their garage, or wherever they can? I just don’t know.ââ |
