The UFC card in Saudi Arabia is still happening, according to Dana White. He doesn’t seem interested in walking it back.
Nolan King relayed the news right after UFC 333 wrapped. “Dana White indicates after #UFC333 that the rumored #UFCSaudiArabia event (that has yet to be officially announced) is moving forward,” he wrote on X.
Sportskeeda framed White’s comments as a matter of contractual obligation, running them under a headline that quotes him saying “We’ll Be There.” According to that report, White was speaking about the Saudi Arabia situation ahead of both WWE and UFC events in the region, with TKO’s two biggest properties sticking to the dates already on the calendar.
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This carries weight because of who White is. He has run the UFC since the Fertitta brothers bought it for $2 million in 2001 and installed him as president. He became CEO in 2023 when ownership was reorganized into TKO Group Holdings, the same parent company that owns WWE. When he says both promotions will show up, that commitment comes from the top of the org chart for both of them.
There’s still a gap between White saying so and an actual announcement. The UFC event hasn’t been made official. No date, venue or fights have been confirmed in anything White said after Saturday’s card. For now it’s a promise backed by a contract, which beats a promotion teasing a card with a flag emoji and a countdown clock.
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Saudi Arabia wasn’t the only topic White covered after UFC 333. He was blunt about Islam Makhachev pushing his return past January. “Islam fights like once a year. He was slated for January, and then said ‘I don’t want to fight until after Ramadan,’” White said in a clip posted by Championship Rounds. He added, “You can’t hold up divisions like this. You gotta keep moving.”
He was considerably warmer about Alexander Volkanovski, who won on the card. White called him “an absolute stud” and said he couldn’t say no if Volkanovski wants to move up and fight for the lightweight title, according to a clip shared by Dovy on X.
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The next step on Saudi Arabia belongs to the UFC. The promotion has to put out an official announcement with a date and a lineup, and until it does, White’s “We’ll Be There” is the only confirmation anyone has.
