President Trump offers UFC’s Dana White hope for return of fans

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The UFC will resume its schedule with a pay-per-view event on Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in front of no fans.

UFC president Dana White is hopeful that won’t be the case for too long after a conversation with his friend, President Donald Trump.

“I just think it’s going to depend on how fast the technology gets there with the testing,” White said Friday at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront downtown. “The president was telling me about this thing you lick and it tells you whether you have (coronavirus) or you don’t.

“If we start getting tests like that, we can probably have fans a lot sooner.”

White said the organization is missing out on a massive revenue stream with no ability to sell tickets.

This event was originally slated for April 18 in Brooklyn, New York, an event that sold out with a live gate of $5.5 million before the global pandemic forced its postponement.

While he’d obviously like to start getting fans back at his shows as soon as possible, White said it’s impossible to set a timeline.

“I don’t know if anyone understands this thing,” he said. “Depending on what network you watch, they tell you different things and Jesus Christ, if you go on the internet, forget about it. It’s (expletive) crazy. I don’t know how long this thing is going to last. We’re just going to put on fights. It’s what we do and what we’re going to keep doing. Hopefully I don’t have to do this for two years.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.