Dana White says the UFC isn’t building a safety net for UFC 333. MMA Sucka reported Wednesday that the UFC president has ruled out contingency plans for the event. Available coverage doesn’t say which bouts are covered, whether any backup fighters were ever discussed, or what prompted the question.
That’s a bold way to run a card. Backup bookings exist for one reason: when a fighter pulls out, the promotion has a replacement ready. Without one, a late withdrawal leaves a hole in the lineup. White is betting the scheduled matchups hold up through fight week, and he’s the one who answers for it if they don’t.
White has run the UFC since 2001, when Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the promotion and made him president. He became CEO in 2023 after the company was reorganized under TKO Group Holdings. When he says there’s no Plan B, there isn’t one.
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The UFC 333 comments came during a busy news cycle for White. In a clip posted by Championship Rounds on X, he responded to Sean Strickland’s public complaints about his UFC pay without much sympathy.
“When isn’t Sean Strickland upset about something? Sean Strickland just signed a new contract in May,” White said, adding that “the number he’s putting out there is not true.”
That’s White’s account of the contract. Strickland’s side of the dispute isn’t detailed in the available reports.
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In another clip from Championship Rounds, White was asked whether Michael Morales vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov is in the works. He didn’t confirm it.
“Could be. We actually have a lot of cool stuff going on right now. We got a lot of good announcements coming. We’re going to have a good January/February,” White said.
“Could be” is White’s favorite way of telling you a fight is either signed, close, or nowhere near happening, and you won’t know which until the graphic drops. Until the UFC announces it, treat Morales vs. Rakhmonov as a possibility.
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Championship Rounds also posted White’s reaction to being offered $20 million to fight Eddie Hearn. The post doesn’t spell out the terms or who made the offer. White co-founded Zuffa Boxing in 2025, so the Hearn joke has some business rivalry behind it.
The practical stakes are in the UFC 333 call. If every scheduled fighter makes weight and makes the walk, nobody will remember White said this. If someone falls out on the Thursday of fight week, people will.
