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'Looking To Go Everywhere,' Dana White Lays Out Ambitious 2025 UFC Goals

UFC CEO Dana White sat down with Sports Business Journal to discuss future UFC plans.

Zain Bando

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White in attendance during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White in attendance during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

UFC CEO Dana White has a vision for what he'd like to see from the promotion next year, which includes more travel. The UFC APEX was the primary home for most Fight Night cards over the last few years, with stops in St. Louis, Tennessee, Colorado, Canada and others.

With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, White sat down with Sports Business Journal to discuss the UFC's future.

"I'm looking to go everywhere on this planet,” White said. “We're going to start going into cities that we haven't been to [since] pre-pandemic. We're going to start going back. We're going to do Chicago in ‘25. We're going to go back up to Seattle and hit a lot of other places that we haven't been in a while, so we're going to move around a lot in ’25.”

White added he would like to see further expansion internationally. This includes Africa, Spain, Mexico and other territories to host events.

But, the UFC's home base remains in Las Vegas. White wants to see further expansion with other professional sports outside of the NFL and NHL, to name a few.

"Yes. Vegas has become an unbelievable sports town," White said. "It makes all the sense in the world. If you're going to an away game for any sport that you love, you're going to Vegas. The problem is with Vegas. What Vegas needs to figure out is the airport."

Dana White Plans To Get Involved in Boxing Sooner Than Later

White recognizes he has a lot of work to do to fix boxing. White has been hesitant to pull the trigger, but ever since his all-in attitude toward Irish superstar Callum Walsh, including broadcasting his last fight on Fight Pass, he is pushing to start promoting fights next year.

“There's no secret that I'm interested in boxing right now," White said. "Hopefully, if this happens, we'd have a deal done and announced in January or February.”

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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