Dana White Talks UFC 326, White House Card, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira & More

The main event at UFC 326 saw Charles Oliveira turn to his grappling as he dominated Max Holloway over five rounds to earn a shutout decision and capture the BMF title.

White admitted that Oliveira’s approach came as something of a surprise, but said that it proved an effective approach as he emerged with the win, and the belt.

“I don't know if anybody was expecting that. I didn’t,” he admitted.

UFC 326 Results, Highlights And Exclusive Interviews

“I mean, the way he body-locked him and took him down so easily and absolutely dominated him on the ground. 

“I thought there'd be a lot more stand up, and I thought that that Max would do a better job of defending the takedown, and if he got on the ground, he'd at least pop up a couple three times during the round. But, total domination, and at the end of the day, the goal of the sport is to win fights, right?”

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A couple months into the new deal with Paramount, White said that everyone concerned has been very happy with how the UFC and Paramount have hit the ground running already.

“If you look at where we are now, we're out from underneath two pay walls,” said White.

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“Obviously, being on CBS is huge, and Paramount, for what it would cost you for one pay-per-view, you can watch everything UFC for the year. We already feel the difference in the business. And Paramount definitely does. I think we have exceeded their expectations on how many people are coming over to watch the fights. And obviously, the White House fight will blow it out of the water.”

Putting The White House Card Together

With the fight card for UFC Freedom 250 at the White House now officially announced, White explained how the matches themselves were selected and booked for the event.

“Basically, what we did is the matchmakers went out and started talking to everybody, seeing what fights were possible, and then came back to me and and I chose the card,” he explained, before revealing that the focus will now be on finalizing the logistical side of putting the event together, with Chief Content Officer and Executive Producer Craig Borsari taking a leading role.

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“We got a lot of the logistics done," he said. "We went out there and presented it to the President and his team and now we'll get into all of that stuff.

“There’s still so much work to do for this fight. Literally, Craig Borsari, our Head of Production, this is all his works on now – nothing else until it’s all over.”

One name that was linked to the White House was that of former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but White stated there was never a consideration about having “Bones” on the card.

“Never ever, ever – which I told you guys 100,000 times – was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” he stated.

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“First of all, I've told you why I wouldn’t do it. And number two, some guy with Meta glasses on filmed him talking about his hips, that his hips are so bad. And I don't know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones, he retired because of his hips. He's got arthritis in his hips. Doctors say he should have a hip replacement. That, on top of all the other reasons that I wouldn’t [book him]. The Jon Jones thing is bulls***. 

“I’m not saying they weren’t talking to Jon Jones, and that Jon Jones wasn’t interested in the fight. And what was crazier is Jon Jones came out and was like, ‘I’m in negotiations right now for the White House fight,’ after I had already sent a text to his lawyer saying, ‘Never going to happen, ever.’"

On Arman Tsarukyan: ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’

Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan hit the headlines after a skirmish with his opponent at a wrestling event in Tempe, Arizona. White admitted he wasn’t a fan of what he saw, but he said that his team will make sure Tsarukyan gets his next Octagon assignment.

“I don't love it," he said. "I don't love it. But you know, that night, that was somebody else's problem, not mine.

“But you know, that’s really all I gotta say about that. The division’s heating up, and [there’s] lots of fun fights to make, and we’ll get Arman figured out."

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“I'm not thrilled with Arman right now,” White said later.

“And there’s a lot of different reasons. It’s not just the stuff that you see publicly.

“Listen, there’s plenty of guys that wrestle that have been respectful with other guys that they wrestled. And I understand there was some back and forth with both of those guys. But where there's smoke, there's fire, and Arman has been smoking a lot lately.”

Dana White vs Eddie Hearn In The Boxing Ring?

There's been a lot of talk following Dana White’s recent comments to Piers Morgan that he’d box Eddie Hearn. Hearn has since responded, suggesting that he’d be prepared to take on the challenge.

When White was asked whether he was serious or joking, he grinned, “It was serious and a joke!

“I'm f****** 56 years old. I shouldn't be f****** boxing anything. The last time I even tried to get ready to box, it was for Tito [Ortiz]. I was 38 and that was a f****** nightmare! And Eddie Hearn’s a p****, he don't want to f****** box anybody. Come on, f****** Eddie Hearn boxing…”

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But when White was told that Hearn said he’d take the fight, White responded: “Listen, if that's what [he wants], then f****** fly out here. We'll go over to the APEX and we can box. 

“Last night, Callum Walsh was telling me, we were at Power Slap and he was like, ‘You should do it! I’ll fight on the undercard.’ I said, ‘You’ll fight on the undercard?'

“If two f****** bums like us were gonna do that, we’d be the first prelim of the night. It would be disrespectful to every guy who’s a real fighter on that card to be under us. We’d be the first prelim of the night, and that would be f****** embarrassing!”

Alex Pereira ‘Deserves’ His Shot At History

Former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will go for history at the White House as he bids to become the first fighter to win UFC titles in three different weight divisions.

The former kickboxing world champion has made no secret of his desire to move up to heavyweight in recent months, and White revealed why it was the right time to pull the trigger and give him his shot at a historic achievement.

“Alex Pereira is this guy that wants to fight everybody, every single weekend,” said White.

“He’s one of the most unique guys we've ever dealt with. And you know, we all agree that, if this is what he wants to do, he deserves it.”

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Pereira’s bid to become UFC’s first-ever three-division champion is all the more remarkable given the fact he’ll be trying to do it across the three divisions that have the largest weight gaps between them, as he looks to add the interim heavyweight (265 pounds and under) title to his middleweight (185-pound) and light heavyweight (205-pound) belts.

“So true. It’s absolutely incredible. We’ll see how it plays [out],” White said.

“Ciryl Gane is a very interesting fight for him, becaue Ciryl Gane doesn’t move like a lot of heavyweights move, so it should be a very fun fight.”