Dana White announces UFC will return to UK ‘THIS YEAR’ after being blown away by historic UFC London card
DANA WHITE has confirmed the UFC will return to the UK following an incredible night in London.
The MMA leader returned to London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night with an incredible showcase of British talent.
The raucous crowd at the O2 were in full voice from the very first fight – in which adopted Manc Muhammad Mokaev scored an incredible submission victory over Cody Durden.
UFC supremo Dana White was blown away by the atmosphere inside the arena, so much so he plans to make major changes to the promotion’s schedule in order to return to these shores.
During the post-fight press conference, he said: “Tonight re-energised me and reminded me of what it’s like to do fights over in the UK.
“We’re coming back here this year. I don’t give a s**t what the schedule is.
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“We’re gonna be moving so s**t around when we get home.”
White already has tentative plans in his mind for who will feature on the promotion’s next UK card.
He said: “The way I look at it, you do half the kids that won and you come back and you do a card with them.
“And then you take the other half to Abu Dhabi in October. Just off the top of my head, that’s what I’m thinking right now.”
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Despite confirming plans to bring the world’s top MMA league back to the UK, White insists rumours of arenas already being on hold are false.
He said: “That’s not true, no it’s not true.”
Veteran promoter White, 52, told SunSport this week he was “expecting the fans to blow the roof off” the O2.
And the reception the diehard UK MMA fans gave their own is up there with the best crowds White has ever heard.
He said: “Tonight reminded me how awesome it is to be here in this type of crowd. But to rank it, I don’t know [if I can]
“As far as the fights and the crowd and everything, it doesn’t go any better.
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“The only thing that makes this better is if [Kamaru] Usman and [Leon] Edwards fought for the title.
“But other than that, tonight was the perfect night.”