“This is not Khabib’s choice”: White on the disruption of Nurmagomedov’s fight with Ferguson, disagreements with the media and rumors of a “fighting island”

- Until April 10, the management of the Absolute Fighting Championship struggled for the opportunity to host UFC 249. Tell us how the events developed in the last week until its official cancellation?

- That week was very interesting. On the evening of April 18, I could hold a tournament in California at the Indian casino Tachi Palace. But the media and government officials just went crazy. As a result, they reached the authorities and ensured that I did not begin to hold this event.

- It seems that the authorities and the media had less impact on you than your partners ...

- That's right. I don’t give a damn about the opinion of the media, they don’t influence my decisions at all. I don’t care about them at all. So the role was played by ESPN and Disney.

- You planned to organize an event on an Indian reservation near Fresno. Is it true that you have reached some agreements not only on UFC 249, but also for several months ahead?

- Yes. Since they did not give up their positions and were ready to hold this event with me, I promised them that when we return to California, the first tournament in the state will be held with them. You know what? I can do all the shows there, for staying on my side.

- Initially, a duel between Habib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson was supposed to take place in the main fight of UFC 249, but the reigning lightweight champion could not fly to the USA . However, many did not believe in this story and accused him of cowardice. How was everything really?

“Everyone knows what this story with the coronavirus ended up with.” But, when everything was just beginning, as soon as we achieved some progress, the next day the situation completely changed. You wake up in the morning, and the rules are different. It so happened that Nurmagomedov was in a situation because of which he was sent back to Russia. He did not want this, and it was not Habib's choice, but it happened. No one is to blame. We all made certain mistakes in preparing for the tournament, because we are not visionaries and did not know what would happen next. 

- When it turned out that Nurmagomedov could not take part in the battle with Ferguson, Justin Gatgi took his place. However, he was ready to speak at a short notice ...

- Both opponents deserve praise for agreeing. Under the circumstances, it is more difficult for the guys to train, and indeed there are a lot of variables. But they trusted me and said: “Good. We will prepare. Although it is not clear when the battle will take place and how everything will go. ” I am very grateful to them and respect my fighters. This is one of the reasons why I advocate for this.

“On paper, the battle between Ferguson and Gatzy promised to be a real massacre.” Do you agree?

- More than! The fight promised to be extremely tough. And I'm still trying to figure out how to make it happen. So that the guys could put this on their track record, and the winner would begin to prepare for the battle with Habib, when he could return. I hope for September or October - or when the whole story ends there.

- At the moment there is no way to arrange a duel between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson?

“It certainly won’t work with Habib, because the holy month of Ramadan began, and he is a zealous Muslim.” So he will return only in September - October. Therefore, I want the battle of Gatgy and Ferguson to take place - because they are now one of the best lightweights in the world. It must be a great fight. As you said, it will become very exciting and tough.

- What about the rest of the card?

- Since I had to postpone four events, there are more than enough athletes available now. So, I can fill the tournament with the most incredible duels, so that it will be the best of the best. Literally in the debut of the preliminary card you exclaim: “Get out of your mind! And this is only the first battle ?! ” And so on until the main battle.

- Also, Conor McGregor, who triumphantly returned to the octagon in January, is considered one of the strongest lightweights on the planet. Then the Irish dealt with Donald Cerrone ...

- McGregor had an incredible fight. People had a lot of questions for him - because he went through a lot, did not speak for a long time. Everyone was interested in how he would manifest himself. And he did it excellently.

- Recently, one of the most anticipated confrontations is called a duel between welterweight Tyrone Woodley and Colby Covington. Is it likely that she will be held at the upcoming show?

- People often publicly say: “I want such a fight, I want this one” - and they challenge each other. But far from the fact that they really want it. You cannot believe every such statement or appeal. Of course, this would be a great match, and I would immediately agree to organize it.

- The press voiced the opinion that you are trying to arrange a show solely for selfish purposes. Was it hard to hear that?

- Of course. How can I say that I do not care about the health and safety of fighters, when that's all that worries us? In our sport, this aspect is always in the spotlight, and we take it very seriously. Take a look at our statistics: during the entire UFC existence, none of the athletes died and there was not a single truly serious injury. And all because we invest in security. 

- On the eve of the final cancellation of UFC 249, the media reported that the tournament will be held on the island ...

- I gave an interview to ESPN. He said that now I was trying to agree so that our organization could conduct battles on a separate island. I need this in order to provide the opportunity to arrange battles with the participation of foreign fighters - because they will not be allowed into the country now. And if I organize the fights exclusively in the USA, then we will quickly exhaust all American athletes, and there will be no one to fight. For everything to work as it should, I need to use my guys from other countries.

- What happened then?

- The ESPN journalist was the only one I told about this. But others rushed to write their materials based on his interview, and now I hear that UFC 249 will be held on the island I just bought ... Yes, I never said anything like that! These people do not care about the truth. They write whatever their heart desires, not caring about the veracity of the material. No one is calling to confirm the information. Nothing like this. They just lie openly. You can not believe a single word of the media. And for some vile reason, all of them (even those who cover our sport) never wanted this tournament to take place.

- You have been the president of UFC for 19 years. Tell me, in what condition did you get the promotion initially?

“I grew up with the Fertitta brothers, my partners.” Lorenzo and I have always said that we want to do something in the martial arts industry. One evening, his brother Frank and I were in Las Vegas and saw the UFC athlete John Lewis. Frank said: "I always wanted to learn how to fight on the ground, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu." I replied: "Well, I know Lewis." They came up, started a conversation and agreed on a lesson for Monday at our work. They began to study bjzh - and just addicted to it.

- What happened next?

- Lewis began to bring UFC guys to us for training. We wondered how sensible they were. In those days, the Absolute Fighting Championship was looked askance, but all this prejudice was about nothing. Contrary to what we expected, they were talented, good guys. And everyone has a family. At that time, I became the manager of Ortiz and Liddell. In this regard, I had a grand battle around Tito’s contract with the previous owner of the UFC, Bob Meyrovitz.

- Tell me.

- He once lost his temper and told me: “Yes, I have no money now!” Not enough, probably for one fight! ” I called the Fertitt brothers and said: “It seems that the UFC has problems. I think you can and should buy. ” We started negotiations, and after a couple of months for two million dollars we became the owners of the organization. But all that we had was 26 contracts, an old wooden octagon and three letters: U, F, C. At that time it was not even a trademark and was not protected in any way.

- What is your best recollection of working at the UFC?

- It is difficult to choose one. There are many such moments. A lot of things are breathtaking. For example, when we first appeared on pay-TV according to the PPV (pay-per-view) scheme, when the shows were first broadcast on Fox, ESPN. And how many high-profile fights and events at Madison Square Garden! We finally got to New York and just triumphantly broke the record for ticket fees - $ 18 million! The closest figure is $ 11 million. I can list such milestones for days.