Is the UFC slowly turning into the boxing of old? A sport that once rose from the ashes, on the brink of bankruptcy, to becoming the fastest-growing spectacle in the U.S. owes much of its success to Dana White’s bold gamble back in 2001. He didn’t just revive the UFC; he turned it into a golden goose. The promotion was built on the promise of meritocracy, where the best fought the best. But has that foundation begun to crack? In the chase for superstardom and global reach, is Dana now risking the sport’s integrity to boost its popularity?
You might be thinking: What are we talking about? Well, let’s see what UFC fighter Mike Davis has to say about the issue. In his recent conversation with The MMA Holes, the UFC star stated that just like boxing, the UFC might be investing too much into its stars, “I swear, if you go into someone’s territory, they want that publicity — they want that. He has 2 million [figuratively], like he has the entire country behind him. So why would you not want him to win and continue to build the UFC’s platform and UFC’s popularity?
He further added, “You’re gonna set up this guy to lose, and that’s just business — that’s boxing, you know. Boxing’s been shady since the beginning, and MMA follows right behind it.” Boxing has always been a sport built around its stars. Unlike the UFC, which controls the MMA world with a centralized structure, boxing lacks a single governing body.
Instead, it is driven by multiple promoters, the sport thrives on the fame of its stars, and the shady business of boxing comes as no surprise. To cite an example, Philly State Boxing Commissioner Howard McCall admitted that the 1976 title win by champion Alfredo Escalera was “bought and paid for” by the mob. Well, the UFC has not faced such a fate, but many believe that the way the sport is advancing, we might witness something similar happening in the MMA realm, particularly the UFC.
For now, we know the promotion really pushes fan favourite fighters to win fights, and we have seen that the promotion books money-making fights rather than title fights. For example, Chael Sonnen admitted, or rather we would say he boasted, that he talked his way into a title shot against Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, implying that star power can bend the matchmaking rules.
Mike Davis Says The UFC Wants The Home Town Fighters to win for the publicity the company would receive
“Boxing has been shady since the beginning and mma follows right behind it”
: @TheMMAholes YT pic.twitter.com/xBd4TAoRWe
— Kevin (@realkevink) July 18, 2025
With the UFC closing the gap with boxing, the community might witness such occurrences more frequently. Interestingly, with the help of Turki Alalshikh, UFC CEO Dana White is on a crusade to save boxing through their new promotion. However, despite support from Mike Tyson, many top voices in the boxing world believe that White’s intervention could make things worse.
Dana White gets schooling from George Groves on fixing boxing
UFC CEO Dana White has been on a crusade for years to break into boxing, and Turki Alalshikh was the missing piece. Now that he has everything in place, White has officially entered the boxing scene with the Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez matchup. With an intention to save the sport from its downfall, Dana White is looking to change the dynamics of the game, but he has been warned by George Groves.
Speaking at a Midnite Q&A event, Groves stated, “So all these ‘Records don’t matter, put them in early,’ you ruin fighters by putting them in early in too tough tests or 50/50 fights. Someone’s going to suffer. The money that the UFC fighters are paid compared to boxers is incomparable – it’s peanuts.
He further added, “That’s why anyone that gets a big enough name in the UFC transitions over to boxing like Conor McGregor or whatnot. I wouldn’t say he is good for boxing, but that’s from a boxer’s point of view and not a fan’s point of view. But I don’t think he’ll be able to complete boxing, I don’t think anyone can.”
Groves believes that the Saudi money won’t last for long, and all the fighters fighting under the Riyadh season will have to get back to make a name for themselves on their own. The boxing veteran has some grave predictions for the new age fighters, but will they come true? We will just have to wait and watch.
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