Dana White is a dedicated, lifelong fan of the sweet science. He attributes his success as current CEO of the UFC to his early days of learning from and studying the world of boxing. After his titanic success in the GCC in recent years, the UFC recently joined forces with Saudi to implement ‘Riyadh Season’ into its fight calendar, on top of its lucrative partnerships with Abu Dhabi. And as of today, March, 5, Dana White, TKO, and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al-Sheikh, have just launched their very own boxing promotion.
The official announcement reads: “Turki Al-Sheikh and TKO have signed a multi-year partnership to establish a new boxing promotion with executive leadership anchored by UFC President Dana White and WWE President Nick Khan.” See a clip from Dana White’s official Instagram account below.
White has long been a (rightful) critic of boxing and how, unlike the UFC, the best fighters don’t always fight each other, and instead wait until their later, post-prime years to finally face their toughest challenge (Mayweather vs Pacquio comes to mind, just to name a few), just in hopes of getting as much money as possible. And according to White, his new promotion will implement a much more UFC-like approach in terms of organising the best, most exciting fights here and now.
“The model is proven to deliver the fights that the fans want to see. The best will fight the best, and the fighters will continue to move up the rankings and become world champions,” White says in his video post. “We will continue to make announcements on where you can watch and all the rest of the details of the business as we get closer to the launch. I’ll see you soon.”
An additional statement reads: “A highly structured system to develop new talent from around the world, including athlete combines and academies, access for all boxers to the UFC Performance Institute, the world’s leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center, and TKO’s production, media, and promotional expertise, to deliver both in-arena experiences and top-tier, state-of-the-art broadcasts to fans around the world.”
An old video of Joe Rogan comes to mind, where he argues that boxing is dead and the UFC is going to take over. One can’t help but agree, and being the lifelong boxing fanatic that he is, Dana White clearly had enough and took matters into his own hands.