UFC insider makes eye-opening remark on potential Dana White-Turki Alalshikh rift over future goals: "No one's had that power"
A UFC insider has addressed Dana White and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh's future goals and put forth a rather astonishing assertion about the same. The individual particularly underscored that Alalshikh is the only person other than White who can seemingly dictate UFC matchmaking.
GEA (General Entertainment Authority) Chair, Alalshikh, is believed to have facilitated the UFC-Riyadh Season partnership. The Saudi Arabian sports-cum-entertainment venture thereby became the UFC's first-ever title sponsor at UFC 306 (aka 'Riyadh Season Noche UFC') at the Vegas Sphere in Sept. 2024.
Alalshikh recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and suggested that he'd like to book a cross-promotional fight between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and ex-UFC heavyweight champion and current PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
MMA reporter Kareem Elnashar put forth an Instagram post about Alalshikh's aforementioned indication. In its comments section, UFC CEO Dana White indicated that the Jones-Ngannou UFC-PFL cross-promotional fight won't happen and that Jones will likely fight interim UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall:
"Absolutely NOT true. Jon vs. Tom"
On The Ariel Helwani Show, deemed industry insider, Ariel Helwani, later referenced Dana White's comment and speculated about White's swift shutdown of the Jones-Ngannou rumors.
The veteran MMA journalist, who shares a turbulent history with White, clarified that Alalshikh never said Jones-Ngannou was finalized but simply implied he wanted to make that fight. White has led the UFC as president since 2001 and as president and CEO since 2023.
Helwani opined that for the first time in the White-led UFC, someone else, namely Alalshikh, is apparently influencing the promotion's matchmaking. Hinting at a potential rift between White and Alalshikh, Helwani stated:
"What's fascinating about this is for the first time ever, for the first time in the Dana White-UFC era, which now spans some 24-plus years, there is someone out there who can talk about making fights, and it's not Dana White. UFC fights. And I can't imagine that is something that he loves. And so here he [Alalshikh] is talking about a UFC fighter, UFC property, if you will -- I wanna make this fight."
He added:
"No one's ever been able to say that. No one's had that luxury. No one's had that power. And so that's why I think you see him rushing to say, 'No, no, no, no. This ain't happening. Jon vs. Tom.' Now again, that may be the fight the world wants to see come 2025. But I just think this dynamic is fascinating. And I can't wait to see how it continues to play out."
Watch Helwani's assessment below:
Who will Dana White pit against Jon Jones in the latter's next fight?
Dana White and the UFC generally refrain from co-promoting/cross-promoting events with other combat sports organizations, barring exceptional cases like the grand Mayweather-McGregor boxing match.
Jon Jones has maintained that he'd like to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who's been lobbying to face him for the heavyweight belt.
'Bones' has also emphasized that he's unafraid of fighting Tom Aspinall but would accept that matchup only if he's lucratively rewarded. As seen below, Kareem Elnashar made another Instagram post highlighting that White reaffirmed his stance of wanting to book Jones vs. Aspinall next.
Meanwhile, PFL's Francis Ngannou continues calling for a UFC-PFL cross-promotion for him to fight Jones.