UFC President Dana White praises Vince McMahon for not stopping WWE programming
It looks like UFC president Dana White has found an unlikely ally in the form of WWE CEO Vince McMahon during a tumultuous time. Of late, White, as well as his MMA promotion, have been subjected to widespread criticism for choosing to go ahead with UFC 249 on the scheduled April 18 date.
All major sports events in the United States have been called off or postponed due to the ongoing pandemic but White clearly has other plans. Having overcome a series of obstacles in the process, White has finally managed to line up a well-stacked card for the UFC 249 pay-per-view headlined by Justin Gaethje vs. Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight title. White has announced that UFC will resume it's regular shows for the upcoming months post-UFC 249 in a new way, holding international events on a private island.
Pro-wrestling giants, WWE too have been keeping busy recently, having just completed their biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, over two nights behind closed doors without fans in attendance. WWE's success has inspired White immensely and while speaking to ESPN recently, the UFC front man said that a lot of promotions are ready to resume with their events but are afraid to take the first step unlike himself and McMahon.
“I’m ready to get back. I think a lot of other people are ready to get back. First of all, everybody’s afraid to be first. Realistically the only guy right now who isn’t afraid is me and Vince McMahon. What he did was he found solutions. He found ways, get rid of the crowd, and I’m sure he’s doing everything in his power, too, to make sure his guys are safe. Everybody else is afraid to be first.”
Defending his decision to continue hosting combat sports events during times like this, White said that he is only doing so to provide some entertainment to the people who are finding it difficult in the current circumstances.
“You keep people in their houses for too long with no entertainment, people are going to start losing their minds. We need to start figuring out solutions. We’re going to do this and keep everybody safe and we’re going to pull this thing off. We’re going to make it happen.”
White plans to resume business as usual post the April 18 spectacle, and promised that the action will keep coming thick and fast as the promotion will try to make up for the events that got postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.