Dana White plans to collaborate further with the Saudis to create more cards.
UFC Saudi took place on June 22, the first ever card in the Kingdom, which featured the headline event between Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov. The card faced some hurdles as Khamzat Chimaev pulled out of the main event after being hospitalized. Aliskerov stepped in, but Whittaker secured a first-round knockout to set up a fight with Chimaev at UFC 308. The Saudis are also sponsoring UFC 306, which will feature the headline event between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley defends his UFC Bantamweight Title on September 14 from The Sphere in Las Vegas. The event has been rebranded as Riyadh Season Noche. The Sphere holds the first-ever combat sports event from the area. At least $17 million has been spent on the card. The event could break the UFC live gate record of $17.7 million set by Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in 2016. White hoped for further big events moving forward.
Dana White is asked about Riyadh Season. pic.twitter.com/9YTygLKF0G
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 28, 2024
“No we wouldn’t go to the Sphere [with them again] but we’ll definitely do other things with them during their season. I’ve created a great relationship with him over the last few months. I like him, and yeah, we’re going to do some stuff together. [We’ll do] lots of things. No, [I can’t say more], haha,” White said