Dana White: Pandemic events saved fighters, staff from losing $200 million

UFC president Dana White spoke recently with Caroline Pearce for BT Sport, and discussed the league’s holding of events during the COVID-19 global pandemic. 

Nobody got laid off, no salaries were cut, and then when you look at the fighters, every fighter contract was honored, said White. Quitting is never the solution. I was blown away by how many people were willing to just quit. Fascinating to me.

If I decide forget it, we’re not gonna go, we’re just gonna sit this thing out like all these other businesses did, you’re talking, I’d have had to lay off probably 50-percent or more of my staff, White continued. You’d have cut all the executive salaries in half… or more. You’re talking almost $200 million that wouldn’t have been paid to fighters, and the list goes on and on.

White showed the world that international professional sports events can be safely held. The league held three events in Florida, five in Las Vegas, four on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, then eight back at the APEX, five back on Fight Island, and the year will close with another eight in Vegas. In all, the UFC was only down for less than two months, from March 14, 2020 t o May 9, 2020. By contrast, the PFL canceled its entire season.

The Fight Island events were the gold standard for dealing with the pandemic, taking place on a closed-off 10 square miles of Yas Island, with its own hotel, restaurants, training facilities, and diversions, for 2,500 athletes, camps, event staff, and support personnel. A return is expected shortly into 2021.

In a sign of how challenging the effort has been, three main events in a row were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests. UFC on ESPN+ 41 on Saturday was originally scheduled to be Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev; both fighters tested positive for COVID-19. At last week’s UFC 256, Gilbert Burns was pulled from the main event due to a positive test for COVID-19. And at UFC on ESPN 19 the week before that, Kevin Holland was pulled from the main event due to a positive test. 

But the show has gone on.

h/t Jesse Holland for MMA Mania