UFC CEO Dana White mocked rival promotions Bellator and PFL during a post-fight press conference, joking that they could “put on a fight in the parking lot” and ridiculing PFL’s promotional email offering a “buy two tickets, get two free” deal.
Dana White, the big boss at MMA, might be itching for a chat with the sport’s “co-leader”. After an epic UFC 300 card, with over 20,000 fans in the house, White was all smiles at the post-fight presser. That is, until someone dropped the “B” word: Bellator.
The topic came up in a chat about a possible UFC event in Hawaii. White was quick to dismiss the idea, citing infrastructure issues that would stop the UFC from setting foot there.
Then, a reporter mentioned Bellator. They’d hosted fights in Hawaii before. White’s response? A scoff and a joke. He said that Bellator, now owned by PFL, could probably “put on a f****** fight in the parking lot”.
This led to White bringing up PFL’s recent event in Las Vegas. He’d only found out about it at the last minute. “You know ‘PFL-ator’ was here on Friday?” White said, mashing PFL and Bellator into one name. “Did anybody know that? I didn’t know until f****** Friday.”
The PFL 2 card? It happened at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. Light heavyweights and lightweights were the main event.
White insisted he wasn’t taking cheap shots at his rivals. But he couldn’t resist mentioning a PFL promotional email he’d seen. They were trying to boost ticket sales.
“They were selling tickets buy two, get two free,” White said. “I’m not busting on them. That’s a f****** fact. They put out a memo buy two, get two free. You’re having a bad f****** week if those are the memos you’re putting out. There were more people in my f****** green room tonight than there were at the fight.”
To be fair, PFL had sent out an email advertising a “buy two tickets, get two free” deal. But it was for an upcoming event in Chicago on Friday, April 19. Not for the Las Vegas event.
The April 19 card? It’s happening at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
White couldn’t help but point out the struggle for ticket sales. If a promotion is offering that kind of deal, it’s not a good sign. UFC 300 didn’t have those problems. It pulled in a $16.5 million gate, the third-highest in UFC history.