When the UFC teased a big announcement from Dana White yesterday, they weren’t lying.
The UFC CEO made a whole slew of big announcements. Three big fights for UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden were revealed: champ vs. champ fights between Islam Makhachev vs. Jack Della Maddalena and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili, plus Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates.
UFC 321 also got an extra title fight, Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern for the women’s strawweight title, and top bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista.
“I had a great day, just about to take off here from Washington, DC,” White said on his Instagram. “We had the meeting at the White House. Could not have gone better. It’s gonna be awesome. White House fight is ON. The White House fight is on.”
“I will have more details on that in the next couple of weeks. But we got it done today.”
White had previously said he had production concerns about the event, suggesting the weight of the Octagon setup might be an issue for the area they hoped to hold the show. There were also a lot of unanswered questions, like what kind of crowd there would be, and how the UFC could put on ‘the baddest card ever’ without the $20 million gate that would generate in a typical arena setup.
All those problems have apparently been solved enough for White to officially announce the UFC White House card is moving forward. So mark your calendars, MMA fans. From McNichols Sports Arena in Denver Colorado to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington, DC. What a crazy trip this sport has had.
