Dana White Discusses Potential Holdup In Hosting UFC Event In Hawaii

UFC president Dana White implies that the Hawaii Tourism Authority could very well be what’s keeping the promotion from holding an event in Hawaii.

Max Holloway is the UFC featherweight champion and has been pushing to headline a card in the “Aloha State.” Holloway was born in Honolulu and his popularity in Hawaii has skyrocketed. The UFC has yet to host an event in Hawaii.

White was recently in Honolulu to see some local fights for his Lookin’ For A Fight series. He told KHON2 that he was with Holloway and throughout the event, “Blessed” kept pitching a UFC card in Hawaii.

“This place has been the spot for mixed-martial arts since the late 90s. I haven’t been out here for a fight in awhile so it was good to be back,” he said. “I had Max (Holloway) with me seeing some of the local guys, but the main event was the fight I was really interested in … it was great. I love being out here watching fights.”

White went on to explain what the holdup is.

“Max wants it bad,” White said of a UFC card in Hawaii. “Listen, we want to come here. We love this place. We got the get this thing figured out eventually. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. I want it, does the tourism board want it? Do they or do they not? If they do, we’ll come. If not, we understand.”