After 30 years since its inception, the UFC has become a machine. There are fights almost every other weekend, but there are certain fights that fans hope to see and generate massive buzz, but Dana White and Co. were never able to capitalize on them. One of those matchups involved former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall, who was the interim champion during ‘Poatan’s reign last year.
Last year, Alex Pereira mentioned his wish to conquer the heavyweight division after winning the middleweight and the light heavyweight belts. His claims garnered massive attention among fans, with Tom Aspinall, who also had a belt, being touted to be the one to welcome ‘Poatan’ into his division. Even Jon Jones wanted to fight Pereira, but Dana White shut that down because he wanted to set up Jones vs Aspinall first, claiming that the Brazilian can fight the winner.
However, the Jones and Aspinall fight never materialized, and, in the meantime, Pereira lost his belt. There was an opportunity for Dana White to set up a superfight, as Chael Sonnen recently pointed out the lack of such fights in the UFC. The MMA legend also claims that Ilia Topuria vs Islam Makhachev, when both were champions in their division, could have also competed in a superfight, but now, it has lost its shine.
Furthermore, ‘The American Gangster’ also pointed out how Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena is also a matchup where one fighter has the belt, while the other is chasing him. This could have been avoided if Dana White and Co. had not made the decision to ask the Dagestan native to vacate his lightweight belt, which would have raised the stakes.
“The only way you are going to get Islam and Ilia is if Jack wins. Now, that doesn’t guarantee you Islam vs Ilia… but it’s the only way you would even have a chance of getting Islam to weigh 155 pounds again… It really is pivotal,” Chael Sonnen stated on his YouTube channel. “If this was champion vs champion, that’d be a superfight, That would be an ultimate superfight. We’ve only been treated to five of those in history of champion vs champion.”
UFC CEO DANA WHITE with post event media during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Etihad Campus, SportCity, Manchester, England on the 27 July 2024. Copyright: xAndyxRowlandx PMI-6350-0002
He mentioned that Jack Della Maddalena hasn’t been treated like a star and is massively underrated. Chael Sonnen had previously claimed that Dana White and Co. treated the Australian fighter as a “transitional champion,” which is something that WWE often does. So, his fight against Islam Makhachev may not sell enough tickets. Sonnen claims that, as Khabib Nurmagomedov mentioned that this fight is going to take place at Madison Square Garden, the CEO may need to add some support to the PPV headliner.
Dana White suggested adding ‘support’ to the Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena headliner
Chael Sonnen did all the math when it came to the potential Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena headliner. As we’ve mentioned, he believes the main event may struggle to sell the PPV all on its own, so there has to be a plan in Dana White’s mind to add another exciting title fight in the co-main event. And guess what? Sonnen believes the fight between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja, or the one between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili, could be the perfect choices.
“I admit that it must be joined with a supporting cast. Joshua Van and Pantoja. It’s not the world’s biggest fight, but I’m saying that that’s a title fight that, for sure, will not main event anything,” Chael Sonnen added. “I believe Weili and Valentina are a lot closer to getting announced. I could see that as a supporting fight.”
The fact that MMA is currently in a state of recession, according to experts, should be enough for Dana White to set up mega fights. But it hasn’t happened in a while now. What are your thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s critique of the UFC CEO? Let us know in the comments section below.
The post Dana White Fumbles Another UFC Superfight as Islam Makhachev vs. Jack Della Maddalena Fails to Deliver appeared first on EssentiallySports.