UFC President Dana White seems unconcerned about UFC 317 potentially competing with Jake Paul`s upcoming boxing match against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. taking place this Saturday.
UFC 317 is set to wrap up International Fight Week in Las Vegas with a pay-per-view event headlined by Ilia Topuria facing Charles Oliveira for the lightweight championship. Simultaneously, Jake Paul is scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Anaheim, California. Notably, former UFC champion Holly Holm is also on the same boxing card, making her return to the sport for the first time in over 12 years after signing with Paul`s Most Valuable Promotions.
While this isn`t the first instance of the UFC facing competition from another combat sports event, White admitted he wasn`t even aware of Paul`s fight when asked about the conflict in scheduling.
“Oh really? I didn’t even f*cking know that,” White stated. “I didn’t even know he was fighting so that’s how concerned I am about it.”
White expressed similar unawareness regarding Holm`s fight, which marks her first appearance since she requested her release from the UFC.
Despite having fights remaining on her contract, the former bantamweight champion was granted her release, becoming a free agent at her request.
Holm had initially signed with the Global Fight League and was expected to compete on their debut events, but those plans fell through, and the organization appears unlikely to ever hold an event.
Now, she is returning to the world of boxing where she is already a Hall of Famer with an impressive career record of 33-2-3, including title reigns in multiple divisions.
“Oh no shit?” was White`s reaction when informed about Holm`s return to boxing.
Although he clearly wasn`t well-versed on the event or the fact that a former UFC champion would be fighting alongside Paul, White did find it “interesting” that the former YouTuber turned boxer would step into the ring against a seemingly “legitimate opponent” like Chavez.
However, it was noted that the 39-year-old Chavez holds a recent record of 2-1 in his last three fights dating back to 2021, with two of those bouts surprisingly being against mixed martial artists. He defeated Uriah Hall in a decision that lacked excitement but lost to Anderson Silva.
