TORONTO – The first UFC pay-per-view of 2024 is in the books, and CEO Dana White sat with the media to react to the event, as well as other things going on in the promotion.
White spoke to the media Saturday after UFC 297 about Movsar Evloev’s win over Arnold Allen; why the date for UFC Saudi Arabia moved; what’s next for Raquel Pennington after winning the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title; and much more.
Below, you can find a transcription of White’s comments from the UFC 297 post-fight press conference.
Raquel Pennington wins vacant UFC women's bantamweight title
“I’ve been close to Raquel for a long time, probably 10 years. One of the things – there are many things I love about Raquel – but what drives me crazy about Raquel is that she doesn’t listen to her corner. She never listens to her corner. It’s amazing she keeps winning. You stay in the middle of that octagon, and you throw, and you let your hands go. You don’t get in the clinch with Mayra (Bueno Silva).
“But she won. I’m happy for her. She’s been at this for a long time, got a lot of ups and downs, stuck it out and she’s a world champion.”
Movsar Evloev's win over Arnold Allen
“What’s (Movsar Evloev’s) win streak – 18 or 19? That fight sucked the wind right out of the arena tonight. It might bum him out, but he’s got to deal with it. That was the least fun fight anybody’s ever seen. He doesn’t have much to complain about. You know who lost that fight? The fans.”
Rumors of UFC Saudi Arabia getting pushed back due to lack of quality
“Total bullsh*t. That’s a straight up f*cking lie. I don’t know who started it or how it started, but not one fight was announced to Saudi. I called and asked the card to get pushed back because we had a few guys we wanted on the card, but they weren’t ready.
“You know how we are, we want to deliver and if we’re going to Saudi Arabia, with the level that these guys do things, and it’s a Fight Night, but we want to make it the best Fight Night we’ve ever done – anybody that came out and said because the card wasn’t good is a f*cking liar.”
Neil Magny's comeback win over Mike Malott
“Neil Magny is the all-time greatest spoiler. Don’t ever think you’re just going to go in there and run over Neil Magny – and tonight he proved it again. He got destroyed for two and a half rounds and then turned it around and came back and pulled off the win.”
Mike Malott's potential following first UFC loss
“Of course (Mike Malott can bounce back). Tonight was a big test for him. I knew that coming in because everyone was talking about Mike coming in this week, too. I said we’re going to find out on Saturday. This is his first big test. He was walking out to a sold-out arena in his home country. There’s a different type of pressure that goes on. Mentally and emotionally, it’s completely different, and it weighs on you physically. He looked incredible until the last minute of the fight, and unfortunately that’s how it turned out for him. He will learn from this, and he’ll grow from this, and we’ll see where he goes, but this doesn’t mean he can’t be a star in Canada.”
