Dana White recently lauded Al Haymon, the mastermind behind Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), for securing the iconic MGM Grand as the venue for Canelo Alvarez’s upcoming bout.
On September 14, White will be in a rare showdown in Las Vegas as two major combat sports events clash. Alvarez is set to defend his unified super middleweight title against Edgar Berlanga at the MGM-owned T-Mobile Arena, while the UFC makes history by hosting the first-ever live combat sports event at The Sphere with Noche UFC.
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Over the past two years, the UFC has consistently hosted four pay-per-view events annually at the T-Mobile Arena. For years, MGM held a firm grip on all prime live sporting venues along the Las Vegas Strip. That all changed in September 2023, when the Madison Square Garden Company shattered the monopoly by unveiling The Sphere, a cutting-edge, one-of-a-kind venue featuring 16K wraparound LED screens and immersive sound technology.
This allowed the UFC to stage one of its most expensive events on September 14, despite PBC securing the date with MGM Resorts International. Last year, White outpaced Canelo by launching the inaugural Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena after the UFC claimed the date first. Alvarez fought Jermell Charlo two weeks later at the same venue.
The UFC and Canelo have previously locked horns over scheduling conflicts on the same night. However, White gained the upper hand on November 2, 2019, when Alvarez’s light heavyweight title fight against Sergey Kovalev was delayed by nearly two hours to avoid competing for viewers as Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal fought for the inaugural BMF title in the main event of UFC 244.
The UFC CEO initially wasn’t thrilled when PBC also locked in the September 14 date for a Canelo fight, but now he appears unfazed by the rival spectacle...
White Commends PBC For Going Head-to-Head with Noche UFC
During a recent interview with Vegas PBS, White was asked if the UFC was sending a message by going head-to-head with a Canelo event on the Mexican Independence Day weekend. The UFC head honcho, however, took the high road, praising PBC’s Haymon for his promotional acumen in securing both the September 14 date and the T-Mobile Arena for the showdown.
I knew that there was going to be an event. You have to assume it's going to be Canelo that night," White said. "It is what it is. They're going to do their thing; we're going to do our thing. Al Haymon slid in there and stole that date from us, which I’ve got to give him props for. Al Haymon is a boxing promoter who is very, very bright, very sharp, and what makes him fascinating as a boxing promoter is that when you think of all the promoters throughout life, whether it's P.T. Barnum, Vince McMahon, or [Bob] Arum, you've seen them a million times. Al Haymon is in the shadows; he's a guy that you've never seen, yet he is one of the biggest fight promoters in the boxing business.
White further added that if PBC hadn't locked down the T-Mobile Arena for that same date, the UFC wouldn’t have opted for The Sphere as the venue for Noche UFC.
Props to him; he [Haymon] slid in and stole my date at MGM. But if that didn't happen, I believe everything happens for a reason. If that doesn't happen and things don't line up the way they did, I'm not at The Sphere, I'm not first, and a lot of other things. So this was meant to happen, and the fact that we're going head-to-head with him that night—MGM is guaranteeing the gate to them, they're guaranteeing them the money no matter whether they sell tickets or don't. We actually sold the tickets that we're selling.
Noche UFC boasts a stacked roster of Mexican fighters and will showcase two title fights. Headlining the event, Sean O’Malley will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili. In the co-main event, Alexa Grasso will put her UFC flyweight championship on the line in a trilogy bout against former champion Valentina Shevchenko.