“I would certainly hope so…” Dana White gets honest about comparing numbers between UFC 294 and Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou following ugly split

Biased Dana White wishes upon UFC 294 PPV buy-in outdrawing the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou match. The much anticipated boxing bout will happen at the end of the month.

“I would certainly hope so…” Dana White gets honest about comparing numbers between UFC 294 and Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou following ugly split

Dana White on overtaking Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou PPV buy-ins (Source: IMAGO)

With UFC 294 being just mere moments away, the promotion returns to Abu Dhabi, once again, as part of the contractual agreement of partaking in the area. CEO Dana White expressed his wishful thinking on the pay-per-view event being better than the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou boxing bout. UFC 294 is already one of the biggest events of the year, with revamped lightweight and middleweight clashes.

“I would certainly hope so,” said White to the reporters at the UFC 294 press conference. “Let’s be honest. Without smashing anybody here, these are the best fighters in the world in each weight class. That’s what you wanna see. You wanna see the best fight the best. These two right here, and these two right here, are the best. I would say yes, sir. But I’m pretty biased.”

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Even with an amended but stacked lineup, the event will face serious competition. Ex-heavyweight champion Ngannou faces WBC boxing champion Fury on Oct. 28, in a hyped match that they have been devising for a while now. With Ngannou’s exit from the promotion earlier this year, the two events are at a direct clash of their own. White is hopeful that the UFC pay-per-view buy-in tally supersedes the other.

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Win or lose, Ngannou will make his PFL MMA debut next year. Plus, Tyson Fury’s presence could rake in plenty of PPV buys that would become a competition for the UFC. The Fury vs. Ngannou card is priced at the exact rate as that of UFC 294. With UFC 295 around the corner, starring Jon Jones‘ return in a blockbuster PPV, things can get dire. Viewers not wanting to afford two back-to-back paid viewings might tend to choose Fury vs. Ngannou over one of the co-events of UFC 294.

Related: “It costs $0.00 to stream illegally” – Fans bash ESPN for stunning PPV price for Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou boxing match

Vindictive Dana White disses Jon Jones’ coach amidst UFC 294 press conference

UFC CEO Dana White is not one to easily forget or forgive; give or take a handful of years. He still holds a grudge over the fact that light heavyweight sensation Jon Jones abruptly discarded the UFC 151 card in Las Vegas. Jones refused to fight late replacement Chael Sonnen after his opponent Dan Henderson injured his knee and withdrew. The fight was thus scrapped off the list. White made a callback to this at the UFC 294 press 

Dana White and Jon Jones
Dana White and Jon Jones (Source – MMAMania/Bleacher Report)

Recently, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev referenced the 2012 incident as well. The spat started with Makhachev deliberating his pound-for-pound quota against that of Jones. He also referred to his short-notice bout with Alexander Volkanovski and how Jones had relinquished his quick-chance bout with Sonnen in 2012. Jones later withdrew from the banter, claiming he had bigger fish to fry.

White, in turn, threw shade to the fact that coaches now are better than they were before. Case in point was Jones’ coach, who advised him against the matchup with Sonnen. As of the latest, Jones still sits atop of the pound-for-pound ranking. Makhachev could grab the number one spot if he defeats Volkanovski at UFC 294.

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