Dana White Teases 2026 Launch Of Boxing’s Own Version Of Dana White Contender Series

September 13 will mark a historic second for Dana White, as one in every of his long-time goals lastly turns into actuality. Canelo Alvarez is ready to face Terence Crawford in a Tremendous Middleweight title showdown at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with the blockbuster bout streaming worldwide on Netflix. The occasion is being promoted by the UFC president in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Normal Leisure Authority chairman, Turki Alalshikh, and Saudi occasions firm Sela. 

Again in March, the group revealed plans to launch a brand-new boxing league, an bold transfer tied to White’s long-standing mission to repair a sport he has typically criticized as damaged, relationship again to his Zuffa Boxing mission. Now, this mega combat between Alvarez and Crawford seems to be the primary main step in White’s bigger imaginative and prescient for boxing’s future. Nevertheless, the UFC head honcho has one other imaginative and prescient that he plans to implement subsequent 12 months. 

Dana White Goals to Repair Boxing By way of UFC-Impressed DWCS Mannequin

It’s no secret that when the Fertitta brothers and Dana White purchased the UFC again in 2001 for simply $2 million, the game was on life assist. MMA confronted widespread sanctions and was nonetheless thought-about taboo in a lot of the USA. After investing almost $40 million, Lorenzo Fertitta was able to stroll away, till White satisfied his longtime pal to take one final gamble with The Final Fighter in 2005.

The gamble paid off. The long-lasting finale between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar is extensively credited with saving the corporate, one thing White himself has typically acknowledged. Since then, White has gone on to launch one other fan-favorite product, Dana White’s Contender Collection. 

The present provides up-and-coming fighters an opportunity to compete in what’s primarily a dwell job interview, with UFC contracts awarded on the finish of the evening. Now, after the success of DWCS, White has revealed plans to convey an identical idea to the world of boxing. In a latest interview with Vegas PBS, White revealed his grand plans. 

He stated, “Principally, in 2026, I’m gonna begin my present, and what I’m gonna do is principally just like the Contender Collection, the perfect will combat the perfect, undefeated guys will combat undefeated guys, and what you’ll do is, you’ll care concerning the first combat of the evening and never simply the primary occasion.”

White additionally weighed in on creating new stars from the get-go, just like the UFC did within the case of fighters like Sean O’Malley, Jack Della Maddalena, and Jamahal Hill, all of whom are reigning or former division champions. 

He added, “So I’ll construct stars, placed on nice fights, after which these guys will graduate, , and combat with (Turki Alalshikh) and they’ll decide how a lot they receives a commission.”

ALSO READ: Terence Crawford Fires Again with Humorous But Agency Response to Ilia Topuria’s Knockout Boast 

Past this, White’s final aim is to rework boxing into one thing resembling the UFC, a unified fight sports activities league. He has even in contrast his imaginative and prescient to the construction of the NBA and NFL.

White continued, “What we did with the UFC is flip the UFC into an NFL, an NBA. There’s a league, you reinvest into the game, and different folks need to put money into the game, whether or not it’s sponsors or any of those monetary corporations, no matter it could be. That’s what must be performed with boxing, too, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

He concluded his assertion by vowing to repair the game of boxing, which he categorised as busted. “Pay attention, there’s no ego or vanity after I discuss moving into boxing and making an attempt to ‘repair it.’ This can be a busted sport.” 

Whether or not White’s boxing enterprise will succeed stays unsure. One of many greatest hurdles he faces is the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which was designed to stop anti-competitive practices by promoters. The Act restricts promoters from controlling titles and rankings whereas additionally requiring larger monetary transparency.

To push ahead, the UFC and mother or father firm TKO have been backing an modification often known as the Ali Revival Act, which might roll again a few of these restrictions. Nevertheless, the trouble took a significant hit on Tuesday when the California State Athletic Fee withdrew its deliberate assist after going through heavy backlash throughout a public assembly.

If the invoice finally fails, White might discover it tougher to problem established boxing promoters like Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren. Nonetheless, the UFC CEO insists he is able to push ahead and compete within the boxing world over the approaching years. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see how his imaginative and prescient for TKO Boxing unfolds sooner or later.