Dana White claims UFC 251 trending as high McGregor vs Khabib – ‘that’s because I’m on the card,’ says Masvidal
- UFC president White says Masvidal vs Usman ‘trending as big as a fight I’ve ever seen in my career’
- ‘The only thing this is comparable to is Conor-Khabib,’ adds White ahead of first Fight Island card in Abu Dhabi
Conor McGregor’s infamous October 2018 grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov remains the UFC’s all-time record show for pay-per-view buys. But Dana White claims interest in UFC 251 on Fight Island is on similar levels.
“This thing is trending off the charts. This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight. The only thing that this fight is comparable to is Conor-Khabib,” White told reporters in Abu Dhabi after Friday’s official weigh-ins.
Jorge Masvidal (35-13) will challenge UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in Sunday’s main event in a grudge match where the bad blood has been building since “Gamebred” won the “BMF” title in November.
“Let me put it to you this way. I’ll give you an interesting stat,” White said. “Our UFC store, we’ve sold more merchandise already now than we did in all of 2019.
“This thing is trending as big as a fight I’ve ever seen in my entire career,” he added.