We've heard it all since he wore a Zuffa Boxing shirt in 2017: Dana White will enter boxing and change things up.
This time, the UFC CEO is serious about entering the sport.
White helps promote Irish fighter Callum Walsh, who recently main evented the 3Arena in Dublin and beat Przemyslaw Runowski. The fight was on UFC Fight Pass, a collaboration between White and Walsh's promoter, Tom Loeffler. Before the fight, White proclaimed his intention to finally invest in boxing.
"If you know anything about me and you go back and look at anything that I've ever said, I never say anything that I don't do – ever. I've never said (something I don't do), and we've been kicking the whole boxing thing around for a long time. You've never heard me commit and say 'I'm in.' I'm in," White said via MMA Junkie.
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White has not hidden his feelings about boxing over the years, going so far as to say the sport is so broken that it can't be fixed. However, the sport has seen a golden age of sorts, with top fighters competing against one another and Saudi Arabia getting involved. The sport is so big that anyone can come in and promote fights.
White looks to join the party.
Following the latest episode of Dana White's Contender Series, White elaborated a bit on his new venture, stating there will be announcements at the beginning of 2025. Though there are moments where White is known to expand the truth, his interest in boxing appears to be for real.
"Every time I get on the phone with these guys, I go, 'Am I out of my f------ mind?' But I think that obviously now is the time, or I would have done it then," White said via MMA Fighting. "I was kicking around — I was even talking about Anthony Joshua at one time and stuff like that. I'm glad that I pumped the brakes and we waited. Everything is about timing. Is now the time? We're going to find out…"
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White recently teamed with Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority. UFC 306 in The Sphere, an innovative experience that may have changed how the UFC and other combat sports entities handle the production of fights, partnered with Riyadh Season. White even promoted Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois, a Riyadh Season event.
Regarding his plan for finally investing his time in the Sweet Science, White was vague with his answers. However, he believes the timing is right and thinks his views on what boxing could be could work.
"There's a million reasons why now is [the time]," White said. "If you notice, as far as boxing goes, even as much money as Sheik Turki is throwing into this thing, television deals aren't really abundant right now. There's just a lot of things that I think I can do that other people haven't done yet… I have always had an idea of how I thought it should be done. I don't know if that's possible, but we're going to find out.
"I'm coming in guns blazing."
