UFC President Dana White Sends Blunt Message to Major Competitor

"Most of these other guys are all running charities not businesses."

UFC President Dana White had a stark response for remarks made by PFL co-owner & chairman Donn Davis. 

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Davis appeared on the 'Front Office Sports Podcast' on September 5, where he made some bold claims on the PFL's status in relation to the UFC:

"UFC's a great company, but PFL is a great company. ...We do everything they do and we do some things better. One, we pay better, and two, you're in control in the PFL.

"You're not under somebody's thumb. What you do inside the cage controls your future."

White was present at the 'Dana White's Contender Series' (DWCS) press conference on August 5, where he gave his thoughts on Davis' remarks:

"There's one of two things in that [statement by Davis] --- there's either delusion or he's uninformed. Almost everything in that statement is incorrect except for 'what happens in the cage determines your future.'

"I think that's the only right thing that he said. And you know what? Good for him, get out there, f******, let's fire it up. ...I've said this before about the PFL, I have no beef with those guys. ...These guys are in this to compete with us and I respect that."

With the PFL receiving a $100M Saudi investment, White was probed for his thoughts on whether they're becoming a viable competitor for the UFC. His response wasn't as cordial as before:

"There's been plenty of people who opened the checkbook to be a competitor. It's not about money," White remarked.

"...One of the big things [Davis] said in [his statement] which is absolutely false is that they pay more than the UFC, which is absolutely - positively - not true.

"But, I do see them waste unbelievable amounts of money. And you can only waste unbelievable amounts of money for so long, no matter how much money someone has."

White explained that many of his competitors were essentially running charities, not businesses:

"...There's business, and then there's charities," White explained. "I'm involved in both, I run a business and I do lots of things for charity. Most of these other guys are all running charities not businesses.

"Like I said you can only do that for so long before it all runs out and it ends, so we'll see."

White continued to exclaim that it wasn't his first rodeo with big money competitors, "It's a lot more than money," he concluded.

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The PFL is set to make big moves in the MMA-sphere. With Francis Ngannou's smart-cage debut slated for the first quarter of 2024, and Jake Paul's debut in late 2023 or early '24. This, with the addition of the $100M Saudi investment, puts the PFL on course to be a major player on the world-stage of mixed martial arts.

MMA fans can rejoice that there are competitors for the UFC to help breed the competition necessary to evolve the sport. Fighter bidding and innovation are just a few things that can be expected from healthy competition in MMA.

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