UFC president Dana White planning swift return to Abu Dhabi to seal 'game-changer' deal

American had aimed to announce major developments with emirate immediately after UFC 267

UFC President Dana White said he was 'not ready to announce anything yet' regarding the 'game-changer' UFC deal with Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dana White says he hopes to return to Abu Dhabi in the very near future to complete the deal with the emirate that he described as a “total game-changer for all of combat sports”.

The UFC president had been teasing major plans for the capital during his stay there this week, as the world’s lead mixed martial arts promotion prepared to stage its latest instalment, UFC 267, at Etihad Arena on Saturday night.

White told The National on Friday that he was holding what he envisaged would be conclusive meetings with local entities before the event took place on Saturday, and that he would be able to announce part of the deal following the fight night.

Speaking afterwards in the early hours of Sunday, White said the talks “went really well” but added: “ Unfortunately we’re not ready to announce anything yet. I know, believe me, it’s killing me. Looks like I’m probably going to have to do another trip out here in a couple weeks and button this thing up.”

Asked if there was any reason for him to be concerned that the deal was not yet finalised, White said: “No, no. Just not done yet. There’s still a lot of things that we’ve got to get figured out. I was hoping we’d get that done today, but we didn’t.”

On Friday, White was presented with a UAE golden visa by the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi. The American said it had been discussed in the past, but “did not see it coming yesterday”.

When asked how impressed he was with the atmosphere at Etihad Arena for UFC 267 — the official attendance was 10,171 — White said: “Listen, I love coming here. I love this place. I now [have a UAE golden visa], so I’m going to love it even more. It was awesome, man. I love it.”

White said the returning Khamzat Chimaev represented the undoubted star of Saturday’s event. The Chechen-born Swede made his long-awaited comeback to the octagon for the first time in 13 months with an incredible statement victory against Li Jingliang, submitting his ranked opponent in the first round.

Chimaev, who made his debut in Abu Dhabi last year and within 66 days had raced to a 3-0 record, had been kept from competing following a protracted battle with Covid-19.

On Saturday night, he began the bout by scooping Li off the canvas and carrying him towards White while shouting at the UFC president, who was sitting octagon-side, before finishing his Chinese rival with a rear-naked choke.

Khamzat Chimaev on his way to victory over Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in Abi Dhbai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“He was yelling crazy [expletive] at me the whole fight,” White said. “I don’t know why. But he was basically just saying, ‘I’m going to fight everybody. I’ll fight [long-retired former champion] Brock Lesnar. I don’t care who it is.’

“Last time we were here, we knew this guy was special. This Covid thing is one of the weirdest things we’ve ever seen. You get some people who fit the profile to be high-risk and it doesn’t even feel like a bad cold to them.

“And then a guy who’s in phenomenal shape like this guy gets hit as hard as he did by Covid. But he's back and there's no doubt that this kid special.”

Chimaev, 27, landed 25 strikes on Li, meaning he has now outstruck his four UFC opponents by a total of 254-2. He is 10-0 in professional mixed martial arts, with all 10 coming via finishes.

“How about he's got more wins in the UFC, than he's been hit in the UFC?” White said. “That's crazy.”

On what’s next for Chimaev, White added: “It's tough [to find an opponent] once you start to break into the top 10, which he will do on Tuesday. But yeah, if he wants to stay busy, I'm a big believer in that anyway, especially with the huge lay-off he's had. But I don't know.

“I’m sure the guy does want to fight [again very soon]. I’m sure we’ll get home and we’ll figure out what’s next for him.”

White had said pre-event that someone on the card at UFC 267 was a likely next match-up for Nate Diaz. Chimaev, who earned one of two bonuses on Saturday for Performance of the Night, called out the hugely popular American welterweight after his victory against Li. Diaz is now in the final fight on his UFC contract,

White said simply, with a smile: “Yeah, I mean anybody on here tonight in that weight class could be an opponent for Nate Diaz.”