UFC president Dana White is pleased with the success of the promotion’s three-event week in Jacksonville.
On May 9, the UFC held an event for the first time since March 14. It was the start of a three-event week for the UFC. All three cards were held inside the empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dana White Praises UFC’s Three-Event Week
Speaking to reporters during the UFC on ESPN 8 post-fight press conference, White gave a rating for the UFC’s return to action (h/t MMAMania.com).
“It was a ten and a half,” he said. “The key to this week was not a lot of people testing positive for COVID-19, or nobody getting sick during the week. It was a home run and I couldn’t be happier.”
Earlier in the week, White heaped major praise for the work of the UFC staff.
“I’m happy to have them behind me, I wanted this week to be over,” he said. “And it was successful in every way it could be successful. I feel great about it. More importantly, nobody’s sick. Nobody’s sick, nobody’s gotten sick, and hopefully that’s the case. There’s no guarantees in life, but hopefully that’s the case when we all go home. It was a great event, it was a great week, and I think we picked the perfect place to do it too.”
UFC 249 was headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson. Gaethje won the bout via fifth-round TKO. UFC Jacksonville took place on May 13 and saw Glover Teixeira stop Anthony Smith in the final frame. Finally, UFC on ESPN 8 featured a heavyweight main event between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. Overeem scored the second-round TKO victory.
