UFC president Dana White sat down to share his thoughts on UFC’s new deal with BT Sport.
Having worked together for about a decade, UFC will maintain its existing broadcast partnership with BT Sport to be the exclusive media home for the promotion in the UK and Ireland. At the time of their first agreement in 2013, the sport of mixed martial arts was not the same as it is today and it holds the most weight for the British audience.
Dana White: “it was a no brainer” to sign a new deal with BT Sport
Following the public announcement made by the UFC and BT Sport regarding the deal, Dana White sat down for an interview to talk about what it means for MMA in the UK and Ireland.
“It’s the place to be. We’ve built a great relationship, and we’ve built a great business together. I’m happy that we signed a new multiyear deal, hundreds of hours of content, of UFC content, original content, library stuff. It’s going to be awesome for the fans in the UK.”
When probed by the interviewer about the challenges UFC faced to break into the UK market, White reinforced the importance of their relationship with BT Sport.
“We had a lot of different options this time, you know, on who to do a deal with, and it was a no-brainer to do it with BT man. Guys have built an incredible brand and network over there. We’ve built a great business together. We are excited to be with you guys.”
UFC will return to the UK this July
After a three-year hiatus largely caused by the pandemic, UFC marked its comeback to the UK with UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall in March. Their return couldn’t have gone better as the English talent shone on the occasion along with an unparalleled level of excitement from the crowd.
“I was so happy that I went to that show, man. It was such a cool experience I felt bad for people who didn’t go to that show. It was awesome! The fans in the UK are so fun. The energy, the buzz, the excitement that night was off the charts man. It was incredible. I’m looking forward to the next one.”
While the promotion had plans for another show in the country for later this year, White preponed the event to this summer. UFC London will go down this July with Tom Aspinall headlining the likely fight night card against Curtis Blaydes.
