UFC CEO Dana White isn’t concerned about criticisms of the lineup for this weekend’s highly anticipate pay-per-view at the Sphere.
Mixed martial arts’ leading promotion will stage its sophomore celebration of Mexican Independence Day this Saturday, Sept. 14. Las Vegas is once again the host location, but the Octagon will be in vastly different surroundings this time around.
Instead of the T-Mobile Arena for the second straight year, this year’s edition of Noche UFC is set to go down inside the unique Sphere venue. Ever since confirming the event, White has been consistently promising a spectacle like nothing seen before.
While the jury is still out on whether the Sphere production will deliver on that, many have already made their minds up when it comes to the lineup set to accompany it on fight night.
Although the top of the card boasts two championship clashes as Sean O’Malley and Alexa Grasso defend their titles, in addition to a high-stakes featherweight bout between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes, the undercard hasn’t exactly created the kind of excitement many had anticipated.
The UFC CEO, however, sees things differently. And he’s perhaps readying up another compilation of the doubters to post following UFC 306…
White Hits Back At Those Slamming Sphere Card
During a recent interview with KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas, White looked ahead to his promotion’s major PPV event this weekend, which he claims has cost the UFC upwards of $20 million.
In terms of media members and analysts expressing disappointment over the lineup for Noche UFC, the CEO recalled the negative sentiments some had about UFC 300 in the lead-up.
“First of all, we made these fights to be badass fights that night. We want fights that represent Mexicans and the history of how they fight in Mexico. I guarantee you that we have done that,” White said. “This event is so big, so different, and so special, yes, this is the type of event you put those type of guys in.
“I deal with this every time we put on a fight. Going into UFC 300, the critics, the ‘experts’, all the people who know about fighting talked about that UFC 300 wasn’t a good card,” White continued. “I’ve dealt with this my entire career. You hear these kind of things from, you know, the ‘experts’. All the experts about fighting are in this building (UFC Headquarters) right here. So, yeah, we’re very confident in the card and the fighters.”
Much of the criticism surrounding UFC 300 focused on the main event, which saw Alex Pereira defend his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill. The bout came together on relatively late notice after other options failed to come to fruition.
This time around, it would appear that the MMA community was expecting a deeper card than has come together for Noche UFC. But regardless, those set to be in action will look to make the most of their position on the prominent lineup and deliver enthralling violence inside the Sphere.
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