Dana White Not Worried About Saudis Spending 100s Of Millions To Compete With UFC

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Dana White is not about the Saudis using their money to compete with the UFC.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the Saudis were investing $100 million into the PFL to compete with the UFC.

Via Sportico

The Professional Fighters League has sold a minority ownership stake in the MMA venture to SRJ Sports Investments, the sports-focused fund launched three weeks ago by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PFL is the first investment by SRJ.

“There is no better global investor with industrial-strength capital [than PIF] to help us achieve our global vision,” Donn Davis, PFL co-founder and chairman, said in a phone interview. “With this capital, we now have what we need to realize our vision to start the next chapter, become not just No. 2, but the potential co-leader in MMA.”

SRJ is investing more than $100 million into PFL, according to someone familiar with the agreement, who was granted anonymity because the details are private. A representative for the PFL declined to comment on the investment size.

News of the Saudis’ investment into the PFL immediately sent UFC’s parent company Endeavor’s stock to a nosedive.

On Tuesday night, UFC president Dana White was asked about the Saudis getting involved in MMA, and he says he’s not worried about them because he believes they’re spending their money in the wrong ways.

“There’s been plenty of people that have opened up the checkbook to be a competitor. It’s not about money… As I sit back, being in this for 23 years, I watch everything that is done wrong. One of the big things (Donn Davis) said is that they pay more than the UFC, which is absolutely, positively not true.

“But, I do see them waste unbelievably amounts of money. You can only waste unbelievable amounts of money for so long, no matter how much money somebody has,” White continued. “Most of these other guys are all running charities, not businesses. Like I say, you can only do that for so long before it runs out and it ends… You ask me like this is the first time I’ve seen things like this and the first time somebody with money was getting involved. It’s about a lot more than money.”