UFC boss Dana White told fans, “I want to get to Texas ASAP” after Lone Star Governor Greg Abbott announced he was pulling back on the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
At Thursday’s UFC 259 pre-fight news conference, White was excited to hear about the reversal of restrictions in Texas, according to Yahoo News.
“Yes, as soon as the governor of Texas said that, I called,” White noted. “Dallas said no. I’m working on Houston. We’ll see if we can get Houston done. I want to go to Texas ASAP. I’ll go in the next two, three weeks. I’m ready to roll. We’ll be first. We’ll open this thing up. We’ll sell it out and be on our way.”
White also noted that he is hoping that UFC 260 on March 27 or UFC 261 on April 24 can be moved to Texas.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m ready to go,” he said of shifting to Texas. “I’d move this one if we could. I told everybody when this opt toened up that I would be first, and we would go first – and we will.”
White moved his productions to the famed “Fight Island” on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last June to keep his product running at full capacity. He has also often said he was reluctant to hold fights before reduced audiences.
But now, with Gov. Abbott saying Texas is “open 100 percent,” that signaled to White that he could play before a large crowd once again.
UFC 259 will be held on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card also streams on ESPN+.
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