Has Dana White lost his fucking mind?

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Dana White: Secured U.S. location, private island for UFC fights

Does he think he’s a supervillian? What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

UFC president Dana White is so committed to resuming operations in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, he has secured a private island to host events.

White told ESPN on Monday that he has secured a location in the U.S. to host UFC 249 on April 18, which will be headlined by an interim title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje and consist of 12 fights overall. He said the location will host weekly fights for at least the next two months.

Additionally, White said he has started work on an undisclosed island, where he could conceivably book fights for international athletes who can’t come into the U.S.

“I’ll tell you this, I’m this close to getting a deal done,” White said. "So this place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights out. I also secured an island. I’ve got an island. The infrastructure is being built right now. We’re going to do all of our international fights on this island.

So he’s gonna flout the law first by holding an event in the US where no doubt more than 10 people will be present AND he’s trying to set an island up as a fight center? :dubious: Yeah, both of these seem like wise moves. :rolleyes:

White has not disclosed the location of his venue in the U.S, and he said he has no plans of doing so. The fights will be held without a live audience.

“Health and safety is something we worry about all the time, not just during the coronavirus,” White said. “Obviously, this has made our jobs a little tougher, but we’re going to do everything above and beyond to make sure everybody is safe, just like we always do. A lot of things will be different.”

Asked specifically whether all athletes will be tested for COVID-19, White declined to go into details, but he said the promotion has taken all necessary precautions.

“I’m ready to get back,” White said. “You keep people in their houses for too long without entertainment, people are going to start losing their minds. And we need to start figuring out solutions. That’s what we’re doing. We’re going to keep everyone safe, and we’re going to pull this thing off.”

:dubious::rolleyes:

Meanwhile, White’s quest to hold a UFC fight while virtually all high-level sports competition have stopped hit an obstacle later Monday when the Association of Ringside Physicians issued a statement calling for the indefinite suspension of all combat sports events.

“Any combat sport taking place during this global pandemic places the athletes, officials, and anyone else involved in the event under unnecessary risk of infection and transmission of COVID-19,” ARP’s statement read. “In addition, combat sports athletes often require medical attention after a bout, and we do not wish to see any additional strain on an already overwhelmed medical system.”

To hold an event, White will have to find ringside physicians willing to work against the ARP’s recommendation. The UFC already is likely to be forced to hire its own judges and referees while serving as its own regulatory body, since most state athletic commissions will not currently allow an event to take place in their jurisdictions.

Dana wasn’t a fighter so how did his brain get so damaged?

[Chingon]

UFC President Dana White says he will ‘never’ say anything negative about Trump

[Loach]

I’m not sure about when he gets his Hank Scorpio island up and running but I’m not going to get incensed about some fights being broadcast without a live audience. Most likely he isn’t going to be breaking any laws since it’s on a state by state basis. I have no doubt there will be some pre-fight testing. If the NBA can get tests before anyone else I don’t see why he can’t either. It’s not much different than what the WWE is doing except the fights will be real.

[Chronos]

[Moderating]

Bo, do you want to rant, or do you want to talk sports? Make up your mind, and I’ll determine the fate of this thread.

[Unreconstructed_Man]

Isn’t this literally the plot to Enter the Dragon?

[Loach]

@Unreconstructed_Man

Isn’t this literally the plot to Enter the Dragon?

But now with face masks.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Loach

I’m not sure about when he gets his Hank Scorpio island up and running but I’m not going to get incensed about some fights being broadcast without a live audience. Most likely he isn’t going to be breaking any laws since it’s on a state by state basis. I have no doubt there will be some pre-fight testing. If the NBA can get tests before anyone else I don’t see why he can’t either. It’s not much different than what the WWE is doing except the fights will be real.

He is risking the legitimacy of UFC, tho. The ARP won’t be part of this. He’ll be providing the judges and the referee and the doctors. Everything will be done unilaterally on Dana White’s say-so, including who wins and who loses. Oh, and the safety and health of the fighters. Who would fight without any kind of sanctioning body watching over things to make sure it isn’t all completely corrupt?

Just like I thought it was madness when Donald Trump said “I’ll be the oversight” of the $2.2T CARES money, this seems like madness to me.

One guy with a personal vested interest in it making ALL the decisions and providing ALL the oversight? Madness.

[Smapti]

I’d wager that he saw Vince McMahon put on WrestleMania in an empty gymnasium and figured that if the guy who promotes scripted fighting can do it, surely the guy who promotes real fights can pull it off.

[Bijou_Drains]

he just wants the bucks to keep flowing in like many Americans. Damn the torpedoes full steam ahead.

[Bijou_Drains]

they are using a California tribal land casino that does not have to follow state restrictions

Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Plans to Get Around COVID-19 Restrictions by Holding Match on Tribal Land

[Manwich]

Minor pedantic corrextion, when it’s UFC it’s called “flaunting the law” which makes sense as they are flaunting

[MichaelEmouse]

@Unreconstructed_Man

Isn’t this literally the plot to Enter the Dragon?

@Loach

But now with face masks.

So, Mortal Kombat?

[Omniscient]

White is a colossal piece of shit and he’s absolutely doing this because he’s a sycophant who wants to give Trump a PR win (and make a bunch of money). BUT, this really isn’t all that risky provided that every fighter, trainer, ref, medical professional and TV production member is tested every couple days and/or they are sequestered there after being tested once at the outset.

[That_Don_Guy]

One small problem with holding it on tribal land - how does everybody get there? Unless it has a runway, or White wants to fly everyone in by helicopter, don’t you think Governor Newsom would have state patrol blockades watching every road that enters that tribe’s land, since White made the mistake of telling everybody where it’s being held?

Of course, that assumes that where they say it’s being held and where it’s actually being held are not two different things.

[pool]

Sounds pretty cool actually.

[Bijou_Drains]

all future matches are called off ESPN pulled the plug , can’t blame them.

UFC scraps California event on tribal land

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

The idea was idiotic from the start, and I knew that it would be cancelled. But I am curious, did White partner with any regional medical center? These are athletes that are trying to seriously harm each other for money. One would hope he would have has at least a couple of medical transport helicopters ready at all times. I’m guessing that a tribal casino may not have a first class medical facility nearby.

[Ike_Witt]

So, was the private island thing just bluster?

[Atamasama]

@Ike_Witt

So, was the private island thing just bluster?

Bruce Lee’s ghost foiled his scheme.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Bijou_Drains

all future matches are called off ESPN pulled the plug , can’t blame them.

https://sports.yahoo.com/ufc-scraps-california-event-tribal-land-230459001--spt.html

I just saw this on the AP and came in to post about it. Thank Og smarter people prevailed.

“I was ready to go on Saturday, but Disney and ESPN asked me to step down,” White wrote. “I love and respect my partnership with them so I postponed the event.”

“My partnership”, he says. :rolleyes:

The fighters? Not so much love, apparently.

@Jackknifed_Juggernaut

The idea was idiotic from the start, and I knew that it would be cancelled. But I am curious, did White partner with any regional medical center? These are athletes that are trying to seriously harm each other for money. One would hope he would have has at least a couple of medical transport helicopters ready at all times. I’m guessing that a tribal casino may not have a first class medical facility nearby.

Per the OP, whoever he found would not be a part of the Association of Ringside Physicians.