Dana White teases boxing fans with $20 million spectacle-type events after partnering with Turki Alalshikh

After Dana White’s $2.3 billion 16K LED Holoplot-riddled UFC 306 Sphere dream, Turki Alalshikh is planning similar events for boxing.

Dana White teases boxing fans with $20 million spectacle-type events after partnering with Turki Alalshikh

Dana White says Turki Alalshikh eyeing one-of-one cards in boxing, like UFC 306 at 'Sphere' (Source: X)

There’s nothing wrong with going with a classic. That’s a dominant process in all things and spectrums, now bleeding into the combat sports arena near fans. UFC CEO Dana White and his kinship with Turki Alalshikh produced the Riyadh Season Noche PPV spectacle at UFC 306. Now, after that once-in-a-lifetime ‘El Clasico’ Mexican celebration, the duo is heating it up in boxing.

The UFC bossman and production crew put in north of $20 million to make that event happen amid serious doubts. The super-wanky setup at MSG ‘Sphere’ struggled to sell at $3000 a piece and bled the projected Noche gate dry. Yet, the Saudi GEA Riyadh Season card was a one-of-a-kind “greatest event.” It even made $21,829,245 in live gate income. White is ready to pull off similar grinds under Saudi GEA didactics, but in boxing.

But I’ll tell you, …I’ll tell you what’s fascinating about him – He, he’s a Visionary when it comes to the sport and he wants to do a lot of like one-of- one uh type events, and, you know – like the Sphere. One-of-one type events, and they are very expensive. So we got a lot of work to do, you know, um, and I don’t… I didn’t want to talk about a lot of the stuff that we’re planning on doing…we’re out shopping a [broadcast] rights deal now…

Dana White during UFC 313 PPV post-fight conference interviews
YouTube video

White has always lauded Turki Alalshikh for singlehandedly saving boxing’s fractured era. He says every extended Riyadh Season spectacle has billions of potential viewers. To that end, he recently got into a deal and announced a UFC Boxing League with Saudi GEA intervention. Now, with His Excellency, he’ll be looking into the business end of things for one-of-one unique events that are not top-heavy stacks of commission lineups.

The second annual Noche card was expensive and tough to put together. One third-row floor ticket to UFC 306 even went for $67,000! The Noche gate input met its end goal due to the unique setup and the Mexican theme. All thanks to the backing and funding from Saudi GEA Chairman Turki Alalshikh. Hence, with his dream fulfilled, White is ready to take that repertoire into boxing.

There is another alliance Dana White can get behind, long-term

With the UFC growing as an organism, the new broadcast deal is up for 2025, and so much more; nobody saw it coming that the promotion would work with Feds! But MMA is a fickle game, and FBI director Kash Patel‘s interest seems genuine.

Feds are serious about joining up with Dana White's UFC
Feds are serious about joining up with Dana White’s UFC (Source: X)

Recently, the FBI’s new director and one-time Trump aide proposed an alliance with Dana White’s UFC. The pitch was to promote combat training for field agents. Those said agents used to disarm and not go for armbars and kimuras, starting an uproar. But the off-the-cuff proposition garnered positive sentiment from the UFC side of things. Even if it did not, the UFC bossman says Patel is dead serious and here to stay with this idea.

After he said that, my phone blew up … everybody wants to be the trainers of the FBI guys now, …I’ve got everybody hitting me up. But he’s dead serious about that. I talked about it tonight —  he’s dead serious. So we’ll see how that starts to come together.

Dana White further said

White was a three-time RNC speaker and post-COVID GOP business task force member in the Trump Administration. His aide even earned him a spot as a victory speaker for the president-elect. After the win, numerous Oval Office needle movers showed up cageside on cable pay-per-view. As did Patel at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. If the world was waiting on telltale signs that the UFC is now suiting and booting up, there’s more than a few.

Related: Spain to South Africa: How Dana White’s 2025 dreams could see UFC traveling to never-before venues