Dana White Explains What’s Preventing UFC From Going To Hawaii

UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway may have to wait a little bit longer for the UFC to take a trip to his native Hawaii.

“””Blessed” has taken the UFC’s featherweight division by storm since suffering his last Octagon loss to Conor McGregor back in 2013, racking up a ridiculous 11 fight win streak over some of the division’s finest. Holloway was able to capture the interim featherweight strap back in December when he finished former 155-pound champ Anthony Pettis in the third round of their UFC 206 meeting.

He followed that up with a third round knockout win over 145-pound legend Jose Aldo in his own backyard of Brazil to unify the promotion’s featherweight titles. After the bout, Holloway continued to campaign heavily for the UFC to take a trip over to the islands of Hawaii, however, UFC President Dana White says that’s easier said than done (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Nobody wants to fly to Hawaii and do a show more than me and my staff,” White said. “Who wouldn’t want to go there? And the media? Everybody wants to go there. It’s a tough one to pencil.

“They don’t have an arena. They have the outside bowl. I’m terrified to do anything outside with fighting. I used to spend a lot of time in Hawaii early on when we bought the company because there were a lot of good fights out there. It rains every 10 minutes. It’s raining, and then it’s beautiful out … it’s raining, then it’s beautiful out. It’s scary, man.”

The UFC has been doing a ton of things they never thought they’d do lately, opening up a new female 145-pound division to build around Cris Cyborg in addition to being on the brink of creating an Ultimate Fighter tournament to crown an inaugural 125-pound champ. Given recent developments, White said he’s done saying ‘no’ and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

“Six months ago, I said we wouldn’t do the (women’s) 125-pound division,” White said. “So I’m not saying no anymore. We’ll see what happens.”

As for his featherweight champion’s current run through the division, White couldn’t be happier for the 25-year-old title holder, praising his personality and the fact that Hawaii once again has a UFC champ

“He’s awesome,” White said. “If you look at his run, it’s been amazing. He’s a good kid. Hawaii finally has a champ again.”