UFC President Dana White is making big moves in the world of combat sports, with plans for both global expansion of his new venture, Power Slap League, and the launch of a new boxing promotion. Additionally, he is eyeing AT&T Stadium as a potential venue for Conor McGregor’s highly-anticipated return to the UFC.
Power Slap League’s first season just wrapped up, and White is already planning its second season in Abu Dhabi, with a third season to follow.
He is also in talks with several states in the US about getting slap sanctioned and bringing the concept to different venues across the country. Despite criticism that the concept is overly pointless, White remains undeterred, stating that Power Slap League has become a social media juggernaut, with more TikTok followers than all but one NFL team.
Meanwhile, White is also making moves in the boxing world, with plans to launch a new promotion within the next 12-24 months. He believes that he can “make boxing interesting again” by putting on events that people want to see and building a brand around the sport. Sportsbusinessjournal was the first to report.
White is also invested in Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, which includes properties like Nitro Circus, and he is working to expand the business even further.
As for McGregor’s return to the UFC, White confirms that it will happen this year, with potential venues including AT&T Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and T-Mobile Arena or Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
This is very surprising considering White has a history of making derogatory statements toward boxing.
“Yeah, you know, every time I try to think about doing something with boxing, I go why would I want to do this to myself? Why would I even want to dive into this nightmare?”
“That’s why I haven’t really done anything. It’s a broken business that is an absolute nightmare to try and fix,” White said.
White seems to have stuck to his guns following the lucrative boxing outing Conor McGregor had against Floyd Mayweather.
White previously said
“I’ve been looking and kicking the tires of boxing for the last couple of years. The reason you’ve never seen me do anything is because that’s how screwed up and broken it is.”
“That’s what a mess it is. Yeah, I’m not doing anything anytime soon.”
However, as MMA becomes more mainstream, the pay gap has become common knowledge,
During his appearance on Bussin with The Boys podcast,
“Yeah, there’s fu****g like a handful of guys in boxing that make sh**loads of money. The rest of the guys make nothing and that’s not the case…we’ve got 800 guys under contract. If you’re a low-level guy coming in, you work your way up. These kids are all making really good money.” White said.