"It should be an Olympic sport already" - Dana White wants to see MMA in the Olympics
While Dana White doesn't believe he should be the guy to get it done, he's a big believer in mixed martial arts becoming an Olympic sport in the future.
The UFC president was doing a fan Q&A session with Laura Sanko leading into UFC 275 when a Twitter user asked what White's thoughts on MMA in the Olympics were. White responded by saying:
"I think it should be an Olympic sport already. It's not my job, it's not what I'm looking to do. I'm not pushing to turn this thing into an Olympic sport. And I agree with whoever said that, yes, and not to mention one of the big problems the Olympics is having right now is viewership. You want viewers? Put MMA in the Olympics."
Watch the full fan Q&A with Dana White below:
Getting a sport added to the Olympics can be a long and complicated process, one that Dana White doesn't have the time to handle in addition to running the UFC. Fortunately, there are other organizations like the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation which have been developing the required amateur framework for Olympic consideration since 2012.
@IMMAAOnline held a historic National Championships on May 8th, as the Federation prepares for the Youth World Championships.
🇮🇪 @IMMAAOnline held a historic National Championships on May 8th, as the Federation prepares for the Youth World Championships.
More details: bit.ly/3N4uDQE https://t.co/Z6DXKnYOcI
After a decade of hard work, the IMMAF has brought together 120 national MMA federations, 49 of which are officially recognized by Olympic committees and other national sports authorities.
Unfortunately, MMA is still considered a controversial sport in Olympic circles, so its addition in the near or far future is still very much in question. For many watching the various corruption scandals and scoring controversies related to Olympic boxing over the years, there's a real question as to whether Olympic inclusion is something that would be good for MMA.
Boxing bouts for medals at the 2016 Olympics were fixed by "complicit and compliant" referees and judges, an investigation reported on Thursday
cbc.ca/sports/olympic…
Dana White explains why the UFC may not come back to Canada in 2022
UFC 275 is taking place in Singapore and is the first UFC event in Asia since the COVID-19 pandemic started over two years ago.
While many UFC Fight Night events are still held at the Apex Center in Las Vegas, the promotion has been getting back on the road more often. England is back in the rotation, and the UFC's debut in France is coming up in September. However, fans in Canada may have to wait a while for the UFC to return to their country.
In a recent interview with Canadian broadcaster TSN, Dana White said:
“Obviously Canada is a huge market for us. Canada is a big part of our history — love it up there. It’s just going to depend on whether the world gets back to normal. I wanna go back to Canada this year, but let’s see. I think that in Canada right now, we’d need a fully vaccinated card. Everybody on the card has to be vaccinated. Yeah, that’s the problem.”
Just finished speaking with UFC president Dana White, who provided an update on a potential Canadian date on the UFC calendar in 2022. https://t.co/Q4DK9DilLh