Dana White opens the doors for UK outdoor UFC event – teases Wembley?

United Kingdom is waking up to some delightful news this morning. Local favorite Leon Rocky Edwards managed to capture the Welterweight title from Kamaru Usman and with that opened the door for a mega UFC event in UK.

UFC has been absent from UK for 3 years prior to this year. After a spectacular ESPN card in London, the promotion arranged for a second outing which delivered as well. Local fan favorites Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann once again electrified the crowd.

With a new British(/Jamaican) champion the sky is the limit and perhaps even a first. In the past Dana White was vocal about not wanting to do a stadium show in the UK due to UK weather in addition to how stadium would alter the viewing experience considering that it’s just watching two men in a cage as opposed to team events typically held outdoors.

White told press including calfkicker media:

 “We can go to England whatever the hll we want to now. And we could go to England… we were selling out England before. Now you just start looking at you know, do you do a bigger arena do you go and I’m scared to go outside and I’m definitely scared to go outside and England. So I’m joking about and serious but joking about Wembley. But yeah, I mean, anything is possible in England now.”

White reiterated: “It would be fun. But yet scary at the same time. The weather isn’t the greatest over there in England. “

Wembley Stadium often houses major events, it’s owned by governing body of English football, the Football Association. It seats upto 90,000 fans though this number may vary due to various requirements.

Edwards became Britain’s first champion since Michael Bisping in 2016. Edwards hails out of Birmingham whereas most other UFC aces are from Liverpool. Liverpool is still not an option due to Arena sponsor in Liverpool blocking UFC from staging events.

Edwards was asked about the possibility to have a title defense in the UK:

“Yeah. Wembley for sure. 100% made at Wembley that’s to be done. This has never been done before. You know to have a guy from Birmingham in the UK. Bisping did it from the UK and obviously did it first and but you did it from living in America and also it was hard for people like me to relate to say look, we can do it as well.”

“I made a point to stay in the UK to achieve this to show other guys coming on to me that look we can if you believe in your country believe in your team you can achieve it and that’s what I did. I went out there and I achieved from a little small gym Birmingham and this is a crazy story.”