During the press conference after the UFC 300 event, UFC CEO Dana White spent most of the time praising an amazing night of action. The event set a record with 20,067 spectators in attendance.
It seemed that White was in a good mood until someone foolishly brought up ‘Bellator’ to him. The topic arose during the discussion of a potential UFC event in Hawaii, which White rejected because of infrastructural issues that would prohibit the promotion from going there in the first place.
When reminded that Bellator had previously organized successful cards in Hawaii, White brushed off the notion. He said that the PFL-owned organization could even “put on a f****** fight in the parking lot.”
White also expressed surprise at learning about PFL’s recent event in Las Vegas, admitting he was unaware until the last moment. The PFL 2 card featured light heavyweights and lightweights competing at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.
He said: “You know ‘PFL-ator’ was here on Friday? Did anybody know that? I didn’t know until f****** Friday.”
While White clarified he wasn’t deliberately insulting his competitors, he couldn’t resist pointing out a promotional email he saw from PFL which highlighted their “buy two, get two free” ticket offer.
White said: “They were selling tickets buy two, get two free. I’m not busting on them. That’s a f****** fact. They put out a memo buy two, get two free. You’re having a bad f****** week if those are the memos you’re putting out. There were more people in my f****** green room tonight than there were at the fight.”
To be fair, PFL advertised the “buy two tickets, get two free” offer for the forthcoming card in Chicago on Friday, April 19. The event will take place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
In contrast to PFL’s marketing efforts, UFC 300 experienced unparalleled success at the box office. It generated a remarkable $16.5 million gate revenue, marking it as the third-highest-grossing event in UFC history.