Dana White's Contender Series
Dana White Talks UFC 306, Sphere Experience And More
UFC CEO Dana White Spoke With The Media Following Dana White’s Contender Series
Following the fifth week of Dana White’s Contender Series, UFC CEO Dana White addressed questions from the media mostly focusing on UFC 306: O’Malley vs Dvalishvili at Sphere in Las Vegas. He also touched on the midway point the show’s eighth season as well as the significance of September 14’s event.
With just days to go before UFC’s historic Riyadh Season Noche UFC event goes down at Sphere, the anticipation for the one-of-a-kind event continues to build. White touched a little bit on the experience, speaking about both the visuals and the difficulties that come with pulling off such a feat. White said the lack of a lighting grid above the Octagon was one of the biggest problems to solve.
Post-Fight Press Conference | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 5
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Post-Fight Press Conference | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8, Week 5
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“Everything is there," White said. All the bells and whistles are in place. Now, it’s just about rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, leading up to this event.”
He added that, at this point, no more tweaks are made unlike other live events UFC did in the past. Beyond the logistics, White gave some insight into the in-arena experience such as the different elements that will play on the large screen in Sphere while the fights are playing out in real time.
“It’s exactly what I had hoped for,” White said. “I’m excited about it, I’m proud of it, and I can’t wait to play it. We’re going to find out at the end. You don’t know until you do it.”
The talk briefly moved to the defending champion headlining UFC 306. “Suga” carried superstar-expectations more or less the minute he introduced himself on Dana White’s Contender Series’ inaugural season, and his rise reaches new heights when he makes the final walk of the night on September 14.
Of course, UFC stardom always brings to mind Conor McGregor, and the comparisons with O’Malley have floated around for a while for fans and White alike.
“When you talk about Conor’s personality and all the things that make Conor McGregor Conor McGregor, the one thing that Conor McGregor always did was he delivered on the big fights," he said. "When the big fights happened—everybody said he couldn’t wrestle, everybody said he couldn’t this and that—he went out and delivered every single time.
“In this sport, when you have what Sean O’Malley has, and you can go out and win the big fights, and O’Malley is a smart kid like Conor too. He gets it”
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