It’s safe to say Dana White isn’t sweating the competition with UFC 317 set to go head-to-head with Jake Paul’s upcoming boxing match against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday.
While International Fight Week wraps up with a pay-per-view event from Las Vegas where Ilia Topuria faces Charles Oliveira to crown a new lightweight champion in the main event, Paul is getting ready to face Julio Cesar Chavez in a boxing match from Anaheim, Calif. Ex-UFC champion Holly Holm is also on the same card after signing with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions as she returns to boxing for the first time in over 12 years.
It’s not the first time the UFC has faced competition from another combat sport, but White confessed that he had no idea Paul was even fighting when asked about the conflict in schedules.
“Oh really? I didn’t even f*cking know that,” White told MMA Fighting during an appearance at Fanatics Fest on Sunday. “I didn’t even know he was fighting so that’s how concerned I am about it.”
The same goes for Holm booking her first fight since asking for her release from the UFC.
The former bantamweight champion still had bouts left on her deal but she was granted her release after asking the UFC to become a free agent.
Holm initially signed with the Global Fight League where she was expected to compete on the promotion’s debut cards but the events were cancelled with all signs pointing towards the GFL crashing and burning before the organization ever holds an event.
Now she’s returning to the sport of boxing where she’s already an Hall of Famer with a remarkable 33-2-3 record during her career including title reigns across multiple divisions.
“Oh no shit?” White said when asked about Holm returning to boxing.
While he obviously didn’t know much about the event, or that a former UFC champion is joining Paul on the same card, White did say he at least found it “interesting” that former YouTuber turned boxer was stepping into the ring with a legitimate opponent like Chavez.
Then again, Chavez comes into the fight at 39 years old with a 2-1 record in his past three fights dating back to 2021 and two of those bouts came against MMA fighters after beating Uriah Hall in a lackluster decision and losing to Anderson Silva.
