MIAMI – Despite all the success the UFC is having in 2023, Dana White feels there’s a glaring-missed opportunity by the company.
The UFC president believes the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion is not fully taking advantage of the Mexican market, given they now have three Mexico-born champions on their roster. However, there is no event in sight for the neighboring country. White, who’s had a long-time affinity for Mexican fighters and interest in growing that market, recently confirmed to MMA Junkie that the promotion has nothing planned for the Aztec country for 2023.
“We would obviously love to get back to Mexico and do that, but I don’t know if it’s in the plans right now,” White told MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN 43 post-fight press conference in San Antonio last month. “We’re building the (UFC Performance Institute) right now, and wait till you guys see that. I can’t wait to share that with you actually, the renderings for the UFC PI in Mexico it’s going to be badass.
“But we’re not looking an (event). But you’re right, you’re not wrong. We got three Mexican champions finally. We probably should be heading to Mexico or at least doing a ‘Cinco de Mayo,’ but that didn’t work out either. So well see.”
The UFC is finally moving forward with the building of their Performance Institute in Mexico City, which is planned to launch in September. This project was supposed to come together a few years ago, but the pandemic pushed back the plans.
The Mexican presence in the UFC has never been stronger.
In January, Brandon Moreno, who then held the UFC interim flyweight title, stopped Deiveson Figueiredo to become the undisputed UFC flyweight champion.
The following month, Yair Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett to claim the interim featherweight title and secure himself a title unification bout with Alexander Volkanovski in July.
Mexico’s success in the octagon didn’t stop there. In March, Alexa Grasso pulled off the biggest upset of the year so far, submitting all-time great Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 285. The win made Grasso the new UFC women’s flyweight champion and the first Mexico-born female fighter to become UFC champion.
White is aware that the Mexican marker is hotter than ever, and that acknowledges that the UFC is currently not handling properly the nurturing of the Mexican market and fan base by not hosting an event down south.
“For the first time ever, we’ve got three champions (from Mexico),” White said in Miami on Saturday after UFC 287. “Why did we not do a ‘Cinco de Mayo’ fight (in Mexico)? Why did we not do this? Why? We’re f*cking it up. That’s why.
“We’re f*cking up. We’re trying to fix it. We’re making a lot of mistakes right now, and I know we are. We’ll get our shit together, I promise you.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
