Together with the UFC coming to reside events with fans in attendance from April, company president Dana White on Saturday told MMAWeekly.com he is targeting UFC 264 to get a return on T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He also hopes that the event will contain the trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
UFC 261 is now slated for April 24 in Jacksonville, Fla.. That event will feature three championship bouts, but perhaps overshadowing that's the fact that it will be the promotion's first event with a complete house of fans.
With Florida opening up, the plan is fans won't be asked to societal distance or hide up. The UFC did, but include a warning for lovers purchasing tickets on the function that by buying tickets they accepted that the danger of potentially contracting COVID-19 at the event, and they wouldn't hold the UFC or the venue accountable if they did.
Though that approach was met with significant criticism from some, there are others that are willing to move whole steam ahead. Count Dana White among them.
UFC 262 is also currently scheduled for May 15 in the Toyota Center in Houston, in which the venue is expected to be at full capability.
Dana White admits to needing audiences back in Las Vegas in July
When asked by MMAWeekly.com about UFC 264, which is suggested for July 10, White confessed that he's targeting a return to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for that event. Though the UFC has held nearly all its events during its Apex facility in vegas since pandemic driven limitations were put in position, they haven't been allowed to possess full-capacity crowds there.
White expects to change that with UFC 264, and wishes to return to audiences on the UFC's home turf with a blockbuster trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier along with Conor McGregor.
McGregor defeated Poirier within their first bout in UFC 178 at September of 2014. Poirier returned the favor of the more recent bout in UFC 257 in January. Poirier won the rematch via a second-round stoppage with a masterful performance.
If he is ready to lineup Poirier vs. McGregor 3 for UFC 264, White also concurred it would make sense to either book Justin Gaethje in a supporting bout or to have him wrapped up as an outright back-up in case either of the main event fighters were to fall out for any reason.
