"I'm ready to roll" - Dana White wants to stage big UFC event in front of a sell-out crowd in Texas
UFC president Dana White is ready to stage a big event in front of fans, with Texas being the intended destination.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, outside of their first few events back, have done a solid job at keeping fights ongoing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many didn’t think they’d be able to pull it off, but up to this point, Dana White has been one of the biggest MVPs for putting on safe events for the fans to enjoy.
Now that Texas has announced plans to open things up and drop most restrictions, Dana White seems keen to be the first major sport to put on a sold-out show.
Dana White's new mission
The promotion welcomed a few fans back during their recent trip to Fight Island for Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 2 but Dana White recognized it would take longer before a full house would be possible.
Alas, the addition of the vaccine roll-out has helped move the process along, which is why Texas has acted so quickly. When asked about the subject by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Dana White had the following to say:
“As soon as I saw it [Texas opening up], we started making calls to Dallas and Houston, two of our favourite spots in Texas. Dallas shot us down immediately, we didn’t even get the sentence out and Dallas said no. They’re not interested in having us and now we’re talking to Houston. So if Houston is ready, we’re coming.
“I’m very optimistic actually, yeah. If you’re gonna have somebody come into your state and be first, who better than us? Not only are we gonna do it, we’re gonna do it right. Look at our track record, we’re gonna come in and blow the doors off that place, have an incredibly successful event, bring business into Houston and kickstart this whole thing again. Once we do it, everyone else is gonna follow suit.”
“Now is the time. I support the Governor of Texas, now is the right time to bring back events. I look forward to being first.”
The possibility of moving UFC 260 to Texas has also been thrown around, although logistically it’s not yet known whether that’s going to be possible.
There’s still a great deal of caution in the air, but if Dana White thinks this is plausible, you can bet he’s going to go for it.