Dana White has credited Vince McMahon for the UFC’s first-ever event in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to take place in March 2024.
As we have reported previously, a fight has been agreed for March 2nd, 2024. An opponent has yet to be confirmed, but the news follows in the footsteps of Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou’s mega fight that took place as part of Riyadh Season. In addition, Oleksandr Usyk is expected to face Fury in Saudi next year as the shift in combat sports has resulted in a move to the Middle East. And with the UFC facing serious competition from the PFL, the news could not have come at a better time. The PFL recently announced a $100 million+ investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund through SRJ Sports Investments. And now that the UFC is heading to Saudi, White credited McMahon for the success of the deal.
Dana White Credits Vince McMahon '100%' For Making UFC Saudi Arabia Happen https://t.co/hVHgfv0m9e
— John Williams M.Ed. (@islandmotivates) November 7, 2023
“It was Vince McMahon [who arranged UFC’s Saudi deal]. It was 100 percent Vince McMahon. He made every call. He didn’t make one move without picking up the phone and calling me and getting me in the loop and seeing if I was cool with this and that. And he went from being, oddly enough, I don’t know why, an enemy [of UFC’s], to being an unbelievable, incredible partner,” White
The improvement in relations between White and McMahon followed after the merger between the UFC and WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, Inc. Prior to that, White recalled his difficult relationship with McMahon as the latter called him out for a fight. In addition, further reports suggested that McMahon was against the UFC getting a deal with NBC in 2011, as the organization went with FOX instead. But now that the bad blood has been put behind them, the future looks bright for the UFC.
Reaction
Good deal, hope fighters make some money.
I used to hate hearing UFC being mentioned in the same sentence as WWE. Mainly due to the WWE not being real, and people getting REAL fighting confused with it.
However, this seems lucrative and will have more pros than cons for…
— Quan (@quan_eth) November 6, 2023
Vince is the man!
— Daily Hits (@Everyday_hits) November 7, 2023
Unstoppable duo
— Beri (@berimisiel97) November 6, 2023