If there's one thing the past few years in sports have taught us, it's that when Saudi Arabia is involved, anything can happen.
Saudi Arabia has had great success in soccer, golf and boxing. Could it do the same in mixed martial arts with the deepening partnership between UFC and General Entertainment Authority chief Turki Aralcik? Aralcik's greatest achievement in boxing was breaking down barriers between promoters to make the biggest fights happen.
Because Saudi Arabia has a minority stake in the PFL, Turki has the power to do the same with a Francis Ngannou vs. P4P classic Jon Jones superfight. UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the idea during the UFC 303 post-fight press conference and surprisingly he didn't rule it out.
When asked if the Riyadh Season could lead to a co-promotion with UFC, Dana White, out of respect for Turki Alarcik, said: “We'll see what the future holds.” pic.twitter.com/vEfLaaMEd5
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 30, 2024
“I know you've always been against it, but is there a chance that the Riyadh season will force cross-promotion?” a media person asked. “Obviously, you think the Francis Ngannou fight is not going to happen, but is there anything Riyadh can do to stop it?”
“I respect Turki Ararcik. He's a good guy and we've really built a relationship over the last few months,” White responded. “I respect what he's done in boxing. He's the only person who can pull off a big fight like this. And the fight is amazing. No fighter would shy away from it for the next big buck.”
“I think it's really impressive what the guy has accomplished in a short amount of time. So, obviously, we're talking to the guy about different options. I respect him, I like him, so we'll see what the future holds.”
White didn't completely dismiss the idea, but it's a pretty vague answer. UFC had Alarcik talk about big dreams of hosting a 30,000-person event in Riyadh, but then made it clear that its current contract only covers UFC Fight Night. The biggest thing UFC has done so far is get Saudi Arabia to foot the bill for Sphere as a sponsor of Riyadh Season Noche UFC.
But Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones is no doubt being funded by Saudi Arabia, and White might be in favor of it if he feels it would tumble the PFL. First Jones would have to recover from injury and beat Stipe Miocic, but that fight isn't expected to happen until late 2024. So whatever happens, it's not going to happen for a while.
