Charles Oliveira vs Max Holloway 2 changed how MMA’s most powerful man thinks about fights.
Dana White was sure the lightweight contenders would deliver a fight to remember when they battled for the BMF belt at UFC 326 in Las Vegas last weekend.
In the end, Charles Oliveira wrestled his way to a lopsided unanimous decision win that was branded ‘boring’ by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, who were backed up by booing fans inside the T-Mobile Arena.
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Dana White thought the UFC 326 main event would be epic
Dana White has been making UFC fights ever since he took control of the company in 2001.
During his 25-year run with the promotion, he’s developed a strong sense of what matchups will deliver.
The UFC CEO was proud of his ability to sniff out good fights until he was completely wrong about Charles Oliveira’s and Max Holloway‘s rematch.
“I used to always have a guarantee,” White told UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping on Thursday.
“There were certain fights you saw that you’re like, ‘It’s impossible for this not to be good.’
“And then the BMF title [fight] happened last week.”
Dana White initially defended the latest BMF title fight
Dana White refused to publicly criticize Charles Oliveira or Max Holloway immediately after UFC 326.
The 56-year-old responded to criticism of the wrestling-heavy BMF clash during a post-fight press conference.
“I thought there would be a lot more stand up, and I thought Max would do a better job of defending the takedown, and if he got taken down, he’d pop back up,” White admitted.
“The goal at the end of the day in every fight is to win. [Oliveira] did exactly what he needed to do to win, and I think probably, you’d have to ask Max, but in training camp, they were probably expecting that.
“If you see Charles fight, he’s not afraid to go toe to toe in the stand up, and they obviously really believed that if they took him down to the ground, tonight would happen.”
2026-03-13 03:00:00
