Dana White used a Serbia fight-week interview to brush off the MVP-PFL merger, but his tone changed when the conversation moved to Anthony Smith.
White spoke with The Mac Life for just over nine minutes before UFC Belgrade. The interview moved from the promotion’s expansion plans to Daniel Rodriguez, Smith’s Nebraska case, Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury, Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry, and finally Jake Paul’s new combat-sports structure.
White Says UFC Is Still Expanding
White first pushed back on the idea that UFC has hit a growth ceiling. Serbia was the immediate example, with UFC Belgrade set for Aug. 1 at Belgrade Arena and Uros Medic vs. Daniel Rodriguez booked as the main event.
“We’re nowhere near the ceiling on this sport. The ceiling on this sport is 8 billion. Okay.”
“We still haven’t been to Spain and there’s a lot of other places that we haven’t been in a while and not just in in in the rest of the world, but in the United States. So, um, yeah, we’re we’re not even close to the ceiling on this business.”
He also said the current pace is already heavy enough. White tied that schedule to the run after the White House card, then said more boxing may be added without turning every open date into another UFC event.
“Since the White House, I mean, we’ve done like an average of two events a week.”
“I mean, we we we’ve done something like 11 events since the White House, which was, you know, right before the 4th of July.”
“Uh I mean, I’d have to hire another thousand people at at at UFC headquarters to to ramp it up anymore.”
“I think we’re at a nice cruising altitude right now where uh you know, we’re doing just the right amount of fights and we’re probably going to add more boxing.”
Rodriguez came up because of the unusual road into his Serbia main event. The interviewer referenced Rodriguez leaving a Tijuana jail before returning to headline, and White said their stage conversation was straightforward.
“Yeah. Uh well, he thanked me cuz I was making phone calls trying to help get him out of there. And uh he’s very very grateful, you know, to to be in Serbia and fighting in the main event.”
White Reacts To Anthony Smith
The Smith question was framed around the former UFC light heavyweight title challenger being charged in Nebraska and around what life can look like for fighters after retirement. White said he did not know enough of the details to speak deeply on the case.
“Yeah. Well, you know, he’s one of those guys, too, that, you know, you don’t expect to to see that happen, but personal experience, it can happen to anybody.”
“I don’t know enough about it. I I don’t know enough of the details. I mean, I’ve been on the road this whole time.”
“But, um, you know, I I just hope that, uh, I hope it works out for him and his family and his kids.”
White was then asked about UFC’s fighter-support system. He did not list specific programs in detail, but he said the company’s contact with athletes is not limited to active UFC contracts.
“We do so much stuff for for for the fighters. Uh not just the ones that are under contract with us, but ones that used to be too.”
Smith was arrested in Gretna, Nebraska, on three felony charges. His bond was set at $500,000, and prosecutors alleged a July 26 altercation before the case was moved toward district court. Smith is 39-22 in MMA, challenged Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title in 2019, and later returned to competition with a bare-knuckle MMA win over Chase Sherman.
White Calls Tune-Up Fights Dangerous
The interview also touched boxing, where White was asked about Anthony Joshua reportedly going down early in his most recent fight and about the delay around Joshua vs. Tyson Fury. White said he does not buy the old tune-up model.
“Well, I Where were we? Uh I was somewhere in New York and and I got the text that he had been down twice in the first round. Um you know, you just what I I’m not a big believer in tune-up fights.”
“I mean, if what does a tuneup fight even mean? It’s just so old school and stupid and uh it means let’s get a quick money grab before”
“100%. I mean tuneup fights are basically let’s let’s do a money grab before the big the big payday. Um and they’re dangerous. You know”
Asked when the Joshua-Fury plan becomes concrete, White pointed to money, ego, and negotiations happening outside his direct lane.
“I think you can see publicly, you know, lots of games being played, lots of ego involved and things like that.”
“Um, you know, the the answer to the question is you go wherever the money is. That’s the answer. Where’s the money? Go where the money is.”
“I think you can see where all the delay is coming from. I don’t think it’s a big secret uh where the delay is coming from. It’s it’s all playing out in front.”
“Listen when it’s time I go in and I do what I do and all this other bullshit that goes on, I don’t have to deal with any of this stuff.”
Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry
White laughed about keeping professional MMA out of his personal feed, then still gave a direct read on Makhachev vs. Garry at UFC 330. He framed the title fight around Garry’s movement and takedown defense.
“I just had to block three other fucking MMA things so that we keep the MMA out of my algorithm. Swear to God I’m just, why do you ask me that? Because like maybe an hour ago, I’m like why is this shit popping up in my feed? And I had to block three MMA sites.”
“That’s a good question. There’s a lot of crazy shit, but it’s not MMA. No fighting.”
“I don’t have any I got like street fighting and shit like that in there, but no professional organized fighting in my feed.”
“Yeah, I I think it’s a uh I think it’s a great fight actually. If you look at what Ian Garry has been able to do, uh you know, he frustrates people.”
“His his takedown defense has been excellent. And uh we’ll see if he can stay on his feet with uh you know, obviously if he can stay off the ground, he he he poses a serious threat to Islam.”
Makhachev is 28-1 and is moving into his first welterweight title defense after leaving lightweight with one of the strongest championship runs of the era. Garry is 17-1 and enters the matchup after rebounding from his first career loss.
Dana White Dismisses MVP-PFL
The MVP-PFL merger drew White’s sharpest dismissal. He first acted as if he did not know which company was being referenced, then said the combined group still would not sell tickets or draw viewers. His answer came one day after the Jake Paul-led MVP push aimed at UFC.
“What company?”
“I mean, I don’t know, I don’t know anything about what they’re doing. It probably makes sense when shit isn’t working for anybody.”
“We should all probably get together. Let’s take two take two organizations that don’t sell tickets and nobody watches and uh let’s merge them together and make a bigger company that we won’t sell tickets to and that nobody will watch.”
“You know that. You know this is coming. They’re gonna come back with Netflix.”
“I said this a hundred times and I’m just fucking around, but I said this a hundred times. I don’t look at any of those guys as our competition.”
“We’re in a whole motherfucking stratosphere now. I mean I’m competing with all the majors.”
The official merger announcement said the combined company will operate under the MVP banner, with Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian as co-founders and board members, John Martin as CEO, and PFL’s roster and league infrastructure forming the base of MVP MMA. The release listed nearly 400 athletes across the combined company, more than 300 PFL fighters from over 40 countries, and a 2026 PFL schedule of 24 events across 11 countries.
