Dana White: UFC Event in Mexico Unlikely for 2023

Mexico may have its strongest championship representation in the UFC to date, but that doesn’t mean the promotion will be heading South of the Border this year.

With Brandon Moreno (flyweight), Alexa Grasso (women’s flyweight) and Yair Rodriguez (interim featherweight) currently holding titles, it would seem to make sense to stage a big pay-per-view in Mexico in the near future. According to Dana White, it isn’t likely to happen in 2023.

“We would obviously love to get back to Mexico and do that, but I don’t know if it’s in the plans right now,” he said at the UFC on ESPN 43 post-fight press conference. “We’re building a [Performance Institute] down there right now, and wait until you guys see that. I can’t wait to share that with you, actually. The renderings for the UFC PI in Mexico. It’s going to be badass.

“You’re not wrong. We got three Mexican champions. We probably should be heading to Mexico, or at least doing a Cinco De Mayo [card], but that didn’t work out either.”

The promotion hasn’t been to Mexico since 2019, when a Yair Rodriguez-Jeremy Stephens main event ended in just 15 seconds due to an accidental eye poke. The Octagon first touched down in the country on Nov. 15, 2014, when Fabricio Werdum defeated Mark Hunt in a heavyweight title bout in the UFC 180 headliner. Even if an event doesn’t happen this year, White still says he recognizes the importance of the market.

“Some of the baddest human beings to walk the face of the earth have come out of Mexico, and me being a huge boxing fan growing up too, Mexico’s always been an important market to me,” White said. “It took longer than I expected it to, but – it did and it didn’t, I guess. I’m impatient and expect things a lot quicker than they happen. The UK and Mexico were both very important to me.”