For a long time, fans had been calling for Dana White and Co. to get out of the Apex for Fight Nights and get into arenas. However, the Apex trend still remains, and guess what? There were even reports that the promotion could be looking to expand the establishment. But it appears that those reports did not hold any weight since the CEO dismissed them with an angry rant.
The report of the Apex expanding to accommodate around ten thousand fans first surfaced on Las Vegas Sports Biz, which claimed that UFC COO Hunter Campbell “confirmed” those plans. If we take a look at the Apex, it’s nothing but a warehouse where fighters are not even allowed to have their family at cage-side to make some space for those with VIP tickets. Some people may think that it needs to increase its capacity.
However, Dana White claims that the whole story was nothing but a “lie,” and also, he also took shots at those people who shared this news without any credibility. The UFC has been making record profits for the past couple of years, so many people may have accepted the news about the Apex’s expansion. Moreover, they also penned a new $7.7 billion deal with Paramount for their next TV deal. The CEO claimed that changes are to be expected, but the change is not coming to the Apex in terms of seating capactity, and it doesn’t look like he wants to entertain such proposals.
“That was the biggest bulls–t story ever written,” Dana White stated during the post-fight UFC 319 presser. “It’s f—ing unbelievable that they quoted people that literally said nothing to them. Never spoke to them or anything… That entire story was a f—ing absolute bulls–t lie. [It’s] the craziest thing we’ve ever seen.”
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Furthermore, Dana White also shared his honest thoughts about expanding the Apex in the future. While he dismissed it, as we’ve mentioned above, the CEO also ridiculed those people who believe that Apex can become a grand arena.
Dana White gives his honest thoughts on Apex’s expansion
The 56-year-old UFC head honcho mentioned that the Apex is currently undergoing construction work, as he spoke about it at the end of last year about investing $20 million in it. Although he did not specify what kind of construction is going on, Dana White claimed that the establishment will never be able to hold around ten thousand people.
Dana White even questioned the head of PR in the UFC, in a light-hearted manner, about how such stories surface in the media. But in the end, he maintained that there is no expansion happening at the Apex anytime soon. “If you look at the construction that’s going on at the Apex, to even think that it’s gonna be a ten-thousand-seater arena [is ridiculous],” the 56-year-old added. “That’s f—ing unbelievable. Complete lie. Everything about that story was a lie.”
Well, some fighters may feel bummed out, but the Apex is going to stay as it is, and they will have to fight there without many people in the crowd. Regardless, what do you think of Dana White’s comments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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