Philadelphia — Dana White had reason to be upbeat following Saturday’s UFC 330 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
His welterweight champion (and former lightweight king), Islam Makhachev, successfully defended his title against Ian Machado Garry, surpassing Anderson Silva’s win streak record in the process. The event was a sellout, broke a record for highest gate at the venue, and saw a number of memorable performances.
It also has left Makhachev’s name in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversation, alongside the likes of Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and even the Dagestani’s teammate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov.
While some have suggested Makhachev needs to check a few more boxes first, White told Cageside Press during the night’s post-fight press conference that letting his career play out might be for the best.
“If he didn’t have that one loss [to Adriano Martins in 2015] on his record, it’d almost be a no-brainer,” stated White. “And this kid wants to fight all the time, stays active, and after tonight, what he did tonight, talks about three, four more fights. So I think what you do is just let this guy’s career plays out.”
White suggested taking the same approach to Makhachev’s career that he’s taken with Zuffa Boxing, when saying “judge us at the end of the year.”
“When Islam’s career is winding up and starting to wrap up, the more fights he keeps winning, the records he keeps breaking, it’ll all speak for itself.”
White also addressed the retirement of Brazilian veteran Edson Barboza, who stalked the UFC’s lightweight and featherweight divisions for 15 years. He was finished on Saturday by Esteban Ribovics, and hung up the gloves after.
“He’s such a great kid and he’s been in so many wars. We really like him,” stated White. “I don’t know what you want me to say, other than he’s an absolute savage. It’s been awesome having him in this company, and we really respect him and like him a lot.”
Finally, White touched on Bella Mir, set to headline a Contender Series event in just a few weeks. White, who has never been fond of cross-sport athletes, seems open to giving Mir a shot both in the UFC, and Zuffa Boxing.
“She is an absolute freak of nature, and incredibly special. And her goals in combat sports aren’t just to be the UFC world champion,” noted White. “She wants to be the Zuffa Boxing champion, she wants to win an Olympic medal, she wants to be the UFC BJJ champion. Sh*t she might start slapping too, who knows what she’ll do.”
“I’m excited about her. I’ve been excited about her since she graduated high school.”
White hasn’t always been fond of second-generation fighters, explaining that “you grow up different than your parents did in many ways, and their path isn’t yours normally.”
That’s not the case with Mir, who White suggested has been training since age six, and was beating jiu-jitsu stars without training in BJJ, just in wrestling. “She’s an absolute standout freak of nature, and a one of one unicorn.”
Watch the full UFC 330 post-fight press conference with Dana White above.
