UFC president Dana White said that going to Hawaii is a dream destination for the world’s leading MMA promotion.
Despite Hawaii having two of the most popular fighters in MMA history, former UFC champions BJ Penn and Max Holloway, coming from “The Aloha State,” the UFC has still never held an event on the Hawaiian Islands, despite rival promotions such as Bellator MMA doing so.
White has said in the past that he didn’t feel like the infrastructure was in place for the UFC to hold an event in Hawaii. But now, with the state working to build a new arena, White says that the UFC could hold an event there in the next few years.
Dana White Talks Hawaii
Speaking to Rich Eisen on “The Rich Eisen Show,” White was asked what places around the world he wants to take the Octagon to, and he immediately mentioned Hawaii as a dream destination for the UFC.
“You know what’s crazy? One of our biggest markets since Day 1 has been Hawaii, and we’ve still never put on an event in Hawaii. We’ve had multiple world champions from Hawaii, and they’re building — the infrastructure there can’t support a UFC event — but now they’re building a new arena there. It’s supposed to be done in 2028 or 2029,” White said.
“I like destinations where, like, when we do UFC Hawaii, people will lose their minds. Right? Who doesn’t want to go to UFC Hawaii? And every staff member I have is going to want to work that event. So, off the top of my head, you firing that at me, when I think about UFC Hawaii, that will be a fun one.”
Current Sporting Arena in Hawaii
The Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu has historically been the venue where MMA promotions such as Bellator MMA, Rumble on the Rock, and X-1 have held their mixed martial arts events.
However, that venue can only hold roughly 8,000 fans, and the UFC prefers events where the venue can hold 20,000 fans or more, so you can understand why White has not brought a UFC card to Hawaii yet.
Dana White Calls Hawaii Dream Destination for UFC