Moments before the UFC 279 pre-fight presser on Thursday, a backstage fracas ensued between Kevin Holland, Khamzat Chimaev, and members of team Nate Diaz. The event was called off, as a result, a rare moment for such a large-scale event.
The UFC and ESPN later released some footage of the said incident, prompting fan theories that the entire thing could’ve been staged. UFC president Dana White is aware of these “conspiracies,” which he addressed during the post-fight presser.
“If you’re dancing around the question that there was some conspiracy theory that… there’s some f—ng lunatics on the internet that think that this was all staged and planned and whatever,” White told reporters.
“If you think that the crazy dudes that we had here this week could be orchestrated into something that would be… you’re literally out of your mind.”
White says the last-minute shake-ups didn’t affect their box office sales at all.
“Not only was not one ticket refunded, the day that all the craziness was going on, but we also sold 250 tickets that day. When we didn’t even know what was gonna happen or how it was gonna go.”
As White announced at the beginning of his media scrum, UFC 279 is their 25th consecutive sell-out event with a gate of $5.67 million.
About the author
