Dana White says if UFC had paused during pandemic, fighters would have lost $200 million

When the world, especially the sports industry closed, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC President Dana White found a way to soldier on and continue delivering shows and PPVs. By staging the event behind closed doors at UFC APEX in Las Vegas and Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, despite a global pandemic, the promotion saved around $200 million for the fighters to be paid. Not just that, the company, didn’t release any fighters during the hard times and made no salary cuts.

“Quitting is never the solution. I was blown away by how many people were willing to just quit. Fascinating to me,” Dana White told BT Sport.

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Dana White on keeping bouts despite COVID-19 pandemic

Dana White said quitting is never an option for him as a lot of people depend on the promotion. He said if the UFC had stopped functioning like other promotions and industries during the pandemic, many people would have lost jobs. “You’d have cut all the executive salaries in half... or more. You’re talking almost $200 million that wouldn’t have been paid to fighters, and the list goes on and on,” Dana White added.

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Initially, when Dana White announced that he would continue keeping shows during the pandemic, he received a lot of criticism from fans. However, after the success of their first event in the COVID-19 ear (UFC 249: Ferguson vs Gaethje), the UFC supremo received a lot of praise. Since then the promotion has not stopped, delivering spectacular PPVs like UFC 252: Cormier vs Miocic 3, UFC 254: Khabib vs Gaethje, and recently concluded UFC 256: Figueiredo vs Moreno.

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White and Co. were first to re-open their business, which inspired other leagues like MLB and NFL to resume. However, even the most stringent safety measures could not prevent coronavirus from upending several fight cards, including this weekend’s ESPN+ event in Las Vegas. The ESPN+ event – also called UFC Fight Night 183 and UFC Vegas 17 – was scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

However, the fight was cancelled after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19. Despite this, Dana White again acted fast and made noticeable changes to the card. Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal will now headline the event, which is set to take place on December 19, 2020.

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Image Source: AP