Dana White Says UFC 247 Has Broken Records At The Gate
UFC 247 does down tomorrow, at the Toyota Center in Texas. According to Dana White, this fight card has made more money than anything else at the arena.
White has been pretty critical of Jon Jones in the past. When UFC 151 fell through after Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice, Dana even called him a sport killer. The two have had their differences over the years, with both parties being justified in their emotions.
However things seem to have improved greatly between White and Jones in recent years. This could be due, in part, to the fact that Jones has proven to be a big draw. This became most evident when UFC 247, which is headlined by Jones taking on Dominick Reyes, broke the gate record for the Toyota Center. Speaking with MMAJunkie, the UFC President confirmed that they have broken this record, and even complimented Jon’s starpower.
“we just broke the record at the Toyota Center for this fight, so yeah, Jones is as star,” White explained. “We did $3.2 million (at the gate), still a couple of hundred tickets to move and we’re opening up some productions kills right now, so it will be well over $3.2 million. And yeah, we’ll have the record.”
Now it would be foolish for Dana White to say that Jon Jones is the same level of popular as a Conor McGregor. However, they attract different types of people. Although some may want to see Conor for the spectacle, others want to see Jon for the elite martial arts skills he displays.
UFC 247 takes place Saturday, February 8th, live on PPV. Jon Jones looks to secure his place as one the greatest of all time, by taking on Dominick Reyes in the main event.
