Dana White confirmed a big fight could be on the cards for Conor McGregor (Getty)
Dana White reveals that the UFC is set to open a new training facility in Mexico
This week, UFC made public its plans to invest millions in an MMA academy in Mexico City, with construction scheduled to be completed by year’s end 2023. The new UFC Performance Institute, located on Torrey Pines Drive just off the 215 Beltway, is planned to be about the same size as the original, in Las Vegas.
Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has stated that this new development will expand the organization’s training and resources to Latin America. In a news release earlier last week, White said:
“Some of the greatest athletes in combat sports history have come from Mexico. Our teams at the PI are the best in the world at what they do, and we know that by making the resources and training available in the country. Mexico can become one of the greatest sources of MMA talent in the world.”
Mexican and other Latin American athletes, who account for over 20% of the UFC’s active roster, will be given special attention and resources at the training centre. The new facility will be the group’s third educational centre. The first location, in Las Vegas, Nevada, opened in 2017, and the second, a 93,000-square-foot building, will welcome customers in Shanghai, China, in 2019.
UFC president Dana White has made a public relations nightmare for the promotion by embarrassingly forgetting lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s name while discussing the upcoming super fight between the Russian and Alex Volkanovski.
One of the biggest events of 2023 is the fight that will decide the pound-for-pound champion at UFC 284, when Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski lock horns. The bout takes place next Sunday in Perth.
White has already been chided by Makhachev for not doing enough to promote the event, and this blunder will only make matters worse for him. This blunder was made by White at the press conference following Sunday’s UFC Fight Night event.
‘You know, when you talk about legacy, if Volkanovski could pull this off, it’s obviously massive, and if uh …[shockingly forgets Makhachev’s name] yeah, could pull it off, he is on his way to building an incredible legacy.”
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