Dana White Discusses UFC’s Future in Mexico, 'Crazy' Brawl in Crowd

This has been a dream and goal of mine since 2001. To finally be here and walk the halls of the @ufc Performance Institute in Mexico City is a monumental moment in the history of our sport. The impact this facility will have on Mexico, as well as, both Central and South America… pic.twitter.com/DZyhLikXkA

— danawhite (@danawhite) February 23, 2024

There was more to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Mexico than just Saturday’s fight card in Mexico City.

While the promotion’s first event South of the Border since 2019 was a monumental occasion by itself, the UFC also officially launched another Performance Institute in Mexico last week.

“There’s still a lot of work to do down here. This is just the beginning,” UFC CEO Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

UFC Fight Night 237 took place at Mexico City Arena on Saturday and featured a host of talent from the home country. Moving forward, White hopes to take the Octagon all over the country.

“This was obviously incredibly successful,” he said. “Now with the opening of the PI…we have huge plans for Mexico, and it’s not just Mexico City — I want to go all over Mexico.

“We are in Mexico now. The UFC is officially here in Mexico now,” he added. “We actually planted a flag, we have our own building, we have our facility. We’re gonna be doing a lot in this country now. We’re here.”

The Las Vegas-based organization made its first visit to Mexico in 2014, when UFC 180 was headlined by a heavyweight clash between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt in Mexico City. The UFC returned to Mexico twice in 2015 and for the most part made the country an annual destination through 2019 before COVID-19 hit.

The pandemic slowed the UFC’s progress in Mexico, but that has changed with the opening of the PI.

“The opening of the PI has been a goal of mine for a very long time. We had a place in the works. Then COVID hit, that deal fell apart,” White said. “We found this new place, we got it together, we’re finally here. This is something that I’ve been waiting for for a long time. It was very satisfying to walk through the gym here in Mexico City.”

According to White, the UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City will serve a dual purpose: It will help build the roster, but it will also serve the community.

“We’re gonna do what we always do …. look for people that we think have potential to break into the Top 10 or potentially be world champions someday just like we did with the other program that we built before the Performance Institute here in Mexico,” White said.

“The other thing that I’m excited about is the work that it’s going to do in the community to bring kids in off the streets and have the opportunity to learn how to train, learn how to do jiu-jitsu, wrestle, box, muay thai, nutrition, strength and conditioning. It’s going to do a lot of good things for a lot of young people in the community here in Mexico City.”

The UFC’s return to Mexico was a largely positive event, but a brawl in the crowd during Saturday’s card briefly took attention away from those proceedings. However, White considers that to be an occurrence unique to this particular locale.

“That never happens. That literally never happens. It happened here in Mexico City,” White said. “The crazy thing about that fight, it felt like it kept going forever, so I ran over there and I was watching it. Nobody stopped it. I was waiting for security to come in…they just let them go til it was over.

“That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. I don’t think it’s a bad look for the UFC. It happened, and that was the end of that. I think after everybody else saw that s—t, nobody else wanted to try that again. No security. The fight just went on until the fight was over. I’ve never seen any s—t like that in my life.”