Dana White plans for fans at Conor McGregor fight: “I’m ready”

UFC President Dana White says he intends to welcome fans to UFC 257, which will be headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

The UFC has promoted a host of events during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, primarily inside its Las Vegas headquarters, and on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. However, none of these events have featured a fan presence.

White intends to change that when McGregor and Poirier collide.

Speaking to Barstool Sports, White divulged that he intends to host this McGregor vs. Poirier fight on Fight Island, rather than in Las Vegas, and that he intends to welcome fans from all over the world to the event.

“It would be good to have fans,” White said (via MMA Junkie). “And the thing is, from ‘Fight Island’ we can get fans all over the world there. It’s an easy destination to get to, a fun destination to go to, and we can just (expletive) blow the doors off this thing.

“I’m ready for some fights with fans,” White continued. “I’m ready to go to a live concert. I’m ready to have some parties. I’m gonna go to all this shit. I want to mingle with the fans again. I want the fans back. We’ve figured this whole thing out up to now. We’ll figure out how to do do this safely and pull this thing off in Abu Dhabi.”

McGregor and Poirier have fought once before. The pair met in the featherweight division in 2014, with McGregor winning by first-round knockout. Since then, both men have achieved huge feats at lightweight, and their UFC 257 rematch figures to do big business—particularly if White is able to pack the venue with fans.

Do you think it’s responsible for Dana White to invite fans to the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch?