Dana White Says UFC Will Be Back Before Any Other Sport
Right now, there is not a single major sports organization that is holding events. However Dana White is convinced that the UFC will be the first one back.
White has been on the front lines of these concerns of sporting event cancelations. At every turn, he was fighting for the UFC to continue, even when it was not recommended. Even UFC Brasilia went ahead last weekend, albeit in an empty arena.
Now that the government has made it to the point where it would be practically illegal for Dana White to keep putting on events. However, as he explained recently, the UFC President says that the UFC will be the first sporting event to take place, over those restrictions are lifted.
“Here’s the reality: We will be up and running before any other sport will,” White said. “Our sport’s different. We have our own arena next door (the UFC Apex). So we will fulfill every fight for every fighter this year, and we’ll get this thing done.”
As for why people are saying it will be a while before the sport continues, White isn’t sure. However he said it does not surprise him, given the types of people trying to get them to stop holding events.
“Think about this: Go online and look at some of these people – and this isn’t a knock, this is just a fact: The weakest, wimpiest people on earth cover the biggest, baddest sport on earth,” White said. “What do you expect them to say? What do you think they’re gonna say?
“I have over 350 employees who work for me. Multi-billion-dollar companies are laying off all their employees right now. We haven’t laid off one person at the UFC. And every fighter that fights for me will fight three times this year. Our schedule will go on. Everybody’s gonna get paid, and we will figure this out, and we will be the first sport back on. And, uh, f–k that s–t. Everything will go on.”
Dana White is probably correct that the sport will eventually go on. Although the real question that should be asked, is will they wait until it is safe for the athletes? At the end of the day, as much as people may want to see the UFC, it is not worth it to put fighters, media, and staff at risk to do so.
