Dana White dismisses narrative that UK fighters were given favorable opponents at UFC London

Dana White has dismissed the narrative that UK fighters were given favorable opponents at last weekend’s UFC London event.

It was just last Saturday, March 19th that UFC London took place amongst a full capacity crowd in the O2 Arena. It had been three years since the UFC was live in London, and it was to be the 12th live event in the English capital, and it didn’t disappoint.

British fighters Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Arnold Allen, Paul Craig, Jack Shore, and Muhammad Mokaev all emerged victorious. It was a great night in London!

Paddy Pimblett wins at UFC London

UFC President, Dana White, expressed his thoughts going into Saturday’s spectacle:

“Every time we put on an event in London it’s an unbelievable experience. The fans are incredible, and the fights are always off the charts. It’s a different kind of energy in England. And I can’t wait to get back there with a fight card on March 19th.”

However, following the fights, some have suggested that the matches which took place in the Octagon were ‘set-up fights’, with the pendulum swinging for the Brits coming out victorious.

At the post fight press conference Dana White had this to say, dismissing such a notion (h/t MMANews):

“They were all fighting real people. These weren’t like, hometown set-up fights. They fought tough guys.”

In further interacting with the media, White had this to say about the Pimblett (17-3 MMA) vs Vargas bout (12-5 MMA):

“This week, I was getting tired of hearing, ‘Oh, wait ’till you see his walk, wait ’till you see this and that.’ I’m like, ‘I wanna see him fight. He needs to win.’ But he did. And he did spectacularly. And when he was in trouble, he came back, and turned the fight around, and won.”

Continuing Dana White said:

“All the talk going into this fight about his walk-in and all this sh*t, listen, it’s real. This kid’s got a ton of hype behind him. Tonight he showed everybody that he’s the real deal.” 

Of course it was ‘The Baddy‘ who defeated Rodrigo Vargas via submission at 3:49 of round one. According to Dana White, Pimblett is the ‘real deal’.

What is your take on the fights at UFC London this past Saturday? Do you think the matchups were rigged in favor of the Brits?