Dana White Fires Shots at MGM as Canelo Alvarez Rivalry Takes Unexpected Turn With UFC Noche Sphere

September 14— the date has become a major source of contention between the President of the UFC Dana White, and the ‘face of boxing’ Canelo Alvarez. On Mexican Independence Day weekend, a marquee boxing event featuring Canelo defending his unified super middleweight championship vs. Edgar Berlanga at MGM’s T-Mobile Arena will go head-to-head against UFC 306 Noche event where Sean O’Malley will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili at the Las Vegas Sphere. Notably, the two venues are just two miles apart. Another interesting fact—it will be the first live sporting event staged by the UFC at the Sphere.

Regardless of the fact, which event will be more successful in terms of PPV buys, UFC’s Dana White hinted at a betrayal of epic proportions. Angered by MGM hosting boxing’s biggest star Canelo Alvarez on the same day as UFC 306, Dana White had earlier fired shots at the company by saying, “Haymon [Canelo’s promoter] snatched that date right away from me. The guys at MGM have done nothing but f—ing disrespect me and the UFC for 20 years. It is what it is.”

It must be noted that UFC’s first Noche event was held at T-Mobile Arena last year, and White was on his way to schedule the second event there as well. However, MGM made a deal with Al Haymon’s PBC, Canelo’s current promoter, and snatched the venue from under White’s nose.

For those unversed, MGM controlled all the live sporting event venues on the Las Vegas Strip till Madison Square Garden Company opened the Sphere in September last year. Reiterating his stance on MGM in a recent press conference ahead of UFC 306, White began, “We (UFC) went there (T-Mobile Arena) last year, that was our date last year. And then without even asking us or talking to us, (MGM) they gave the date away.”

Elaborating on the sequence of events that led to him shiting his mega UFC event to the Sphere, White stated that MGM “guaranteed the gate” for the Canelo-Berlanga fight, and didn’t honor the “contract” they had with the company.

Elaborating further on his strife with MGM, White further stated, “When I say MGM, it’s the guys who run the arena who have been literally disrespecting us since day one of the relationships. So now, Bill Hornbuckle, the guy who runs MGM, had to get in the middle of this thing and try to fix it and that’s how I ended up at the Sphere.” Firing a parting shot at the guys who “disrespected” him, White vowed he would “be back” to host his combat events at the T-Mobile Arena, hopefully by next year’s Mexican Independence Day.

Meanwhile, Canelo’s former promoter Oscar De La Hoya stated that his former charge is on a suicide mission going up against Dana White and the architect of the hugely successful Riyadh season, Turki Alalshikh.

Oscar De La Hoya claimed that Canelo’s upcoming fight against Edgar Berlanga on September 14 will become a PPV nightmare as it will go up against the UFC 306 event at the Las Vegas Sphere. Notably, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, will sponsor UFC 306 as he continues to make inroads in the US with Riyadh Season.

“They’re going up against the UFC’s debut at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Now that’s a spectacle that everyone and their mother have been waiting to see since it opened up about a year ago and who is funding it and making it all happen Canelo? Turkey Alalshikh. You are really making the wrong enemies,” De La La Hoya said with a grin on his face.