Dana White teases Ilia Topuria on first Paramount card, open to Holloway-Oliveira
UFC CEO Dana White talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters about Ilia Topuria, Charles Oliveira, record contracts and more.
LAS VEGAS – Broken relationships, whether personal or professional, in the combat sports world often lead to a war of words. But as the UFC and ESPN are less than three months away from the end of their partnership, Dana White has nothing but nice things to say publicly.
“We’ve had a great relationship with ESPN,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Tuesday after Dana White’s Contender Series 86. “We were talking earlier. Everyone is already starting to feel it. There are a lot of relationships between all the ESPN team that comes to all the fights and works, then the UFC team. Everybody is starting to feel it coming to the end here.”
Eight events remain in the ESPN era (five Fight Nights and three pay-per-views) before the promotion starts it’s $7.7 billion with Paramount.
UFC 323 on Dec. 6 will mark the final pay-per-view event before the promotion allegedly pivots away from the pay-per-view model. Despite the writing on the wall, the UFC has still crafted a card with two title fights and, by many fans’ standards, solid depth.
“(ESPN) has been great to us,” White said. “They’ve been great for the sport. We want to put on a badass last card for them.”
As for the Paramount debut, White has teased the first numbered event will be stacked to the brim. He said Tuesday that Ilia Topuria might be part of that lineup.
“Matchmaking was today and we started working on the first Paramount card today,” White said. “(Topuria) is a possibility.”
White also said while it’s not a done deal, he think Contender Series will make the move to Paramount in addition to the main-brand UFC.
“Yeah, it’ll end up on Paramount,” White said. “If you ask me and I honestly answer you, I’d say it ends up on Paramount.”
