UFC president Dana White has made quite the claim on UFC 251’s potential success.
On Saturday (July 11), UFC 251 will mark the first event in the UFC’s “Fight Island” trip. The event will take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Headlining the card will be a welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. Also featured on the card will be a featherweight title rematch between titleholder Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Petr Yan and Jose Aldo will collide for the vacant bantamweight gold.
Dana White Claims UFC 251 Is Trending Higher Than A Conor McGregor Bout
White spoke to reporters during a media scrum ahead of fight night. The UFC boss claimed that UFC 251 is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight via BJ Penn.
“I was just telling those guys—I just left the fighter meeting—this thing is trending off the charts. This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight,” White added. “The only thing this fight is comparable to is Conor-Khabib. Let me give it to you this way, I’ll give you an interesting stat: our UFC store, we’ve sold more merchandise already, now, than we did in all of 2019. We already beat 2019. This thing is trending as big of a fight as I’ve ever seen in my entire career.”
Masvidal was told of White’s claim by a reporter later on. “Gamebred” took credit for the trend as he stepped up on short notice to replace Gilbert Burns. “Durinho” tested positive for COVID-19, allowing Masvidal and the UFC to work out a deal.
MMA News has been on top of all the UFC 251 updates you will need. We covered the weigh-ins, which you can see results for here. Check out our main card predictions here. Be sure to stick with us on Saturday for live results, highlights, and post-fight happenings from UFC 251.
