Hawai’i govt delegation goes to Vegas for Aloha Stadium event

I have never been to a place with a higher percentage of skilled fighters than Hawai’i. Thus a UFC in The Aloha State is as natural as copy and paste. And a UFC in the 50,000 capacity Aloha Stadium would be heaven on Earth.

There have been two MMA events at state’s largest stadium. In 2005 12,000 fans gathered to watch B.J. Penn fight Renzo Gracie in a K-1 event. And in 2014, 1,500 gathered to watch Falaniko Vitale’s retirement fight in an X-1 event.

UFC president Dana White has previously expressed skepticism about an event in Hawai’i, citing the threat of rain at Aloha Stadium, and the lack of a sufficiently large indoor venue. However, he recently expressed positively about it.

Obviously with a Hawaiian champion now, too, it makes a lot of sense,” said White. “We’re working on it.”

Now a five-member delegation of Hawai’i officials have traveled to UFC headquarters in Las Vegas, hopeful the league brings a fight headlined by featherweight champion Max Holloway to Aloha Stadium this summer. Ferd Lewis for the Tribune News Service reports that meetings were described by Aloha Stadium Authority chairman Ross Yamasaki as “very positive.”

UFC made a very thorough presentation as to the support they would provide to make this event a success,” said Hawaii Tourism Authority president and CEO George Szigeti. “UFC is requesting a sizable sponsorship fee from HTA to host this event. Because this would involve the use of state funds, we will put UFC’s request through the rigorous process we use to review proposals and see if an agreement can be reached that is fair to both sides. We want to make sure that any monies provided by HTA is done appropriately and does not come at the expense of HTA’s support for community programs and marketing tourism for the Hawaiian Islands.

The delegation met with UFC executives, but UFC president Dana White is said to have made an appearance. Make it happen Dana.