‘They’re not very bright’… Dana White tears into rival promotion after claims they spent over $20million on Francis Ngannou comeback fight

Dana White is not looking forward to the upcoming pay-per-view event being held by the PFL this month.

The UFC CEO has never been shy about ripping into his competition, and it was no different last night as he took aim at the fledgling promotion following UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The league will stage a ‘Super Fight’ event on October 19 in Riyadh, which is headlined by Francis Ngannou returning to the cage.

But White reckons that they are spending way outwith their means, and that it is unlikely to be a successful show. It’s not the first time he has taken aim at the PFL, particularly since their acquisition of Bellator earlier this year.

Who is Dana White? All you need to know about the CEO and President of the UFCDana White tears into PFL over spending on Francis Ngannou’s comeback fightFeatured on the main card of last night’s event was former PFL champion Kayla Harrison, who seemed to book her ticket to a bantamweight title fight with an impressive win over Ketlen Vieira. And her old promotion cheekily used her involvement to promote their own fight involving Larissa Pacheco.

The two-weight champion is facing Cris Cyborg in the co-main event of October 19’s ‘Battle of the Giants’, and is the only woman to beat Harrison in the cage. They drew attention to that fact in a video posted just before UFC 307, drawing the ire of many fans.

But White feels they are allowed to use such tactics, given their otherwise unwise tactics. He noted that they have previously claimed to have spent more than the $20million he used to stage UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which he believes is a poor investment.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC“I think when you’re losing as much money as they are, f***ing go for it,” White said of the Harrison stunt. “F***ing throw the kitchen sink at it. This guy [co-founder Donn Davis] just came out recently and said, ‘We’re going to spend more money than they did on the Sphere.’

“That sounds f***ing brilliant. How many tickets are you going to sell? Yeah, they’re not very bright. Yeah. So if I were them, listen, it’s all fair. Knock yourself out. They’re drowning. Drowning.

“They suck. I mean, they’re not good at what they do. So, I guess you would just keep trying anything you can to make something stick.”

PFL boss Donn Davis hit back at Dana White earlier this week after previous critiqueThis is not the first time that Dana White has been critical, in particular of PFL’s spending. And co-founder Donn Davis has taken his own shots at his rival, telling Yahoo Finance during the week that he felt their model was better suited to a legitimate sporting league.

White had mocked their decision to splash the cash on their pay-per-view event, which will see Ngannou return to the cage to face Renan Ferreira. The heavyweight is still the lineal UFC champion after being stripped when he left the promotion, and has been pursuing boxing in the past two years.

During his Yahoo interview, Davis compared White to controversial boxing supremo Don King, saying: “Most people know the UFC. They’re the clear leader today. That’s a promoter-driven organization.

PFL founder Donn Davis responds to Dana White’s rant about the PFL business model and boldly compares UFC to Blockbuster in 2008. 😬 pic.twitter.com/r1R9vfN8Wk

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 23, 2023 View Tweet

“You know that Dana White is the next generation of Don King. He chooses who is ranked one and who’s ranked two. The promoter decides who to fight. PFL? completely different. I don’t decide anything. I’m like Adam Silver in the NBA. It’s all driven by the athletes.

“The PFL is a sports season format, just like the NBA or the NFL. Regular season, playoffs, and championship. Athlete-driven in the PFL. If you win, you advance. If you lose, we see you next year… Meritocracy and transparency propelled our explosive growth.”

And asked more specifically about his rival’s critique of their purchase of Bellator, Davis noted that “Dana doesn’t say anything unless he’s bothered.”

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