PFL Founder Fires Shots At Dana White & UFC Over Failed Saudi Arabia Card
PFL founder Donn Davis has fired shots at the UFC over reportedly scrapped plans for a March show in Saudi Arabia.
It's no secret that Saudi Arabia has been having a growing influence on the world of sports. Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, has quickly become a well-known name in boxing. Whenever a boxing card is held in Saudi Arabia, it's expected to be a marquee event.
Ariel Helwani recently reported on "The MMA Hour" that the UFC planned an average Fight Night card for March in Saudi Arabia, but the event has been pushed back to June due to a weak lineup. Helwani even noted that the decision-makers in Saudi Arabia did not like what was being offered.
Shortly after that report surfaced, the PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card was announced for February 24 in Riyadh. Donn Davis took this as an opportunity to fire a dig at Dana White and the UFC for failing to put together a satisfying card. Here's what he had to say during an appearance on MMAFighting.com's "The MMA Hour:"
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the UFC March 2 card was cancelled the day before our fight [announcement],” Davis said. “Those who know MMA said, ‘That is not a mega-event. That is not worthy of being hosted in Saudi Arabia. That is a poor fight-quality card the UFC put forth on March 2.’
“Could UFC load up a card and have a mega-card? They could!” Davis continued. “Do they do it that often? They don’t. We’re going to do it every time we do it, and so our partners who are host partners, like Saudi Arabia — our partners who are PPV partners like DAZN or ESPN+, they know they can count on us for these two fights a year, best of the best of the best. That’s how we’re thinking about it in terms of the business model going forward.”
Dana has shared unfavorable views of PFL ever since the promotion started making a strong push to take market share in the MMA world. At one point, some saw PFL as an unofficial feeder promotion for the UFC. During that period, White was more scathing towards Bellator than any other promotion. Once PFL acquired Bellator, things changed.
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