Dana White has made a bold claim that this weekend’s UFC 284 main event between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski in Perth, Australia is going to be one of the biggest fights ever in the history of the sport.
White’s declaration came just days after Makhachev expressed his disappointment at the level of promotion that UFC 284 had received so far.
“I see that it is not such a big promotion,” Makhachev reportedly told R-Sport Russia. “Dana White himself has some problems. He does not pay much attention to this fight. In terms of pay-per-view, yes, more could have been done. I only saw Volkanovski once, in Sydney. A tour could be organized around the world, a conference could be held in America.”
White was quizzed about those comments on the Jim Rome Show yesterday and dismissed Makhachev’s concerns as ill-informed.
“Yeah, that’s not true,” White responded. “First of all, I’ve talked to Islam. First of all, who interviewed him? Who translated for him? I mean, the guy speaks Russian. Taken out of context.
“First of all, he lives in Dagestan. What does he know about what’s going on for the promotion of the fight? He doesn’t know anything. It’s going to be one of the top-five biggest fights of all-time.
“First of all, the event sold out. Right? You couldn’t get a ticket if you wanted to get a ticket in Perth. And this thing is trending right now to be the biggest pay-per-view event in Australia, which, it’s like six percent behind the Conor McGregor [vs. Dustin] Poirier 3 fight. It’s probably going to break the record. So to say that the fight hasn’t been [promoted], that’s just ridiculous. That’s what you call some internet BS.”
