Dana White passionately ends ‘Stadium vs. Arena’ debate for UFC events with fights vs. soccer comparison

Dana White downplays hopes for in-stadium (soccer/MLB) UFC PPV despite recent interest from New York Yankees management.

Dana White passionately ends ‘Stadium vs. Arena’ debate for UFC events with fights vs. soccer comparison

Dana White dumbs down hopes for a UFC PPV in a stadium (Source: IMAGO/X)

It’s a high moon for the New York Yankees – and their Caleb Durbin. The prestige of “Breakout Prospect of the Year” in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) after some 30-ish stolen bases is a big one. Recently, it’s also bolstered talks of other big sports in the iconic setting. It’s also being a good year for MMA to expand into stadiums. However, despite interest from the Yankees’ executives, Allegiant, AT&T Stadium, and even Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, Dana White says no!

White once billed AT&T Stadium hosting Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre. The promotional CEO also had to field recent rumor mills about Allegiant Stadium in the run. UFC 145-pound kingpin Ilia Topuria has been a clear contender for Fighter of the Year. After his dominaion over two top pound-for-pound competition veterans, Team Climent Club MMA is ultra-confident he can sell out Santiago Bernabeu. White gave a dose of reality that states otherwise.

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I want people to walk away with a good experience, …and not feeling like they wasted their Saturday night…so I. …I’m uh, I will…I don’t do outdoor venues…it can be rain, wind, hot, cold, humidity, whatever…I mean there’s so many different things. You know, soccer games and football games that stuff doesn’t matter but fights are are very different.

Dana White to Abe Madkour for Sports Business Journal (@sportsbusinessjournal1998)

With UFC, and its parent TKO Group Holdings putting restrictive holds on lux venues, it’s all rodashows and local spots in the haul. UFC fight at Yankee Stadium to go? Well, not any more. His reasoning seems to centre on concerns that unconventional venues, such as an outdoor baseball field or soccer, might compromise the experience. It might also affect the fight itself if weather conditions aren’t right.

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Spanish and South African PPVs need a stadium grind due to a lack of high tech arenas. Digital pay-per-view (PPV) offerings including UFC FIGHT PASS are golden. But what of the live gate if Conor Mcgregor does finally return and it’s raining out of blue? Dana White isn’t willing to risk it. While he is not saying no to their search pool, it’s something brass will eventually figure out.

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The Yankees Jinkies: Yankees trinity visit Jon Jones’ domination amid failed UFC PPV talks

The trio of Clarke Schmidt, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe attended the UFC 309 Pay-per-view (PPV) extravaganza. UFC heavyweight and MMA G.O.A.T. Jon Jones moved to 2-0 at the weight class with a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic and even went viral with the ex-Prez.

Dana White dashes hopes of a Yankee Stadium PPV, MLB giants attend UFC 309
Dana White dashes hopes of a Yankee Stadium PPV, MLB giants attend UFC 309 (Source: IMAGO/X)

The win further cemented Jones’ status as the world’s best. Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt shared a snap from round one of the five-round title scrap where Jones was working out the kinks in his sophmore heavyweight fight.

The picture was Jones on top of Miocic, landing an elbow. It finally opened up quite a gush afterward on his eye. Meanwhile, Wells also shared Donald Trump’s walkout with Dana White, Mike Johnson, Elon Musk, and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. The Yankees’ catcher shared his POV with the caption “45-47”, pertaining to the president-elect.

Clark Schmidt supports UFC heavyweight Jon Jones
Clark Schmidt supports UFC heavyweight Jon Jones (Source: IMAGO/(@clarkeschmidt) on IG)
Austin Wells backs the next POTUS
Austin Wells backs the next POTUS (Source: (@awells) on IG)
Austin Wells also reposts UFC co-mains
Austin Wells also reposts UFC co-mains (Source: (@awells) on IG/thescore.com)

White’s view is that the UFC’s success is based on providing a consistent and controlled environment to the best of their ability. Hence, he snubbed out talks and of failed bids of hosting a UFC PPV at Yankee Stadium at the post-fight presser.

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Dana White

This has been a go-to topic that only got even bigger with the two cultures intermingling. He believes that the overall quality of an open air UFC event could be diminished by factors that may be entertaining as a novelty. For now, Yankees at UFC – check. UFC at Yankees? Never say never.

Related: LA’s $2 Billion arena could soon see Dagestani Islam Makhachev headlining UFC PPV event