UFC President Dana White has declared the promotion will never book a stadium show in the UK, shutting down Paddy Pimblett's plan for an Anfield fight night.
The Scouse fighter declared that The O2 arena's 17,000 capacity was "too small" after his last win, and pushed for a fight night at his favourite team's stadium. But White believes that the volatility of the UK weather is too big of a risk, and he isn't interested in putting on events of that size in England.
UFC London drew a record-breaking gate, and British fans were praised for providing the greatest atmosphere in the sport since crowds returned after the coronavirus pandemic. And the promotion's boss ripped up their summer schedule to return to UK shores in July, where Pimblett will return against Jordan Leavitt.
"I'm not going outside," White said of the UFC's future plans during an appearance on the Spinning Backfist MMA show. "I'm definitely not going outside in f***ing England. Listen, if you're going to go outside you go to Abu Dhabi where it's hot as hell and absolutely not going to rain.
"But I don't even like that. I don't like having any outside factors that can affect the fight. Heat, wind, any of that stuff that can hurt the outcome of a fight, I don't like."
Pimblett was already a massive name in his home country as a Cage Warriors featherweight champion and lightweight contender before ever signing with the UFC. But he burst onto the scene as an international star with his first round knockout of Luigi Vendramini in Las Vegas last September, before submitting Rodrigo Vargas in London.
And prior to his UK return back in April, he declared that the promotion will need to find a bigger venue if they're to bring him back to his home country. He won't headline July's card, with Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes topping the bill and Darren Till vs Jack Hermansson as co-main event, but undoubtedly a lot of fans will attend to see the Liverpool native.
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“Without being big-headed and without being up my own a**e, I said months ago the O2 Arena is too small with me fighting on it," Pimblett said before his last fight. "I could sell that out on my own, I genuinely could.
"They need West Ham’s ground, Tottenham’s ground, Wembley [Stadium], that’s what they need with me on the card. You need a bigger venue, this is just isn’t big enough!”
Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn, who has put on major stadium shows in Tottenham and Headingley already since the end of pandemic restrictions, offered to help White putting on a big show like that in the UK. But it appears that the UFC boss would rather play it safe with the London venue, which has been home to some legendary fight nights over the years.
