LONDON – After the promotion returned to London for UFC Fight Night 255 on Saturday, Executive Daveshaw spoke to members of the media at O2.
Shaw, the senior vice president of international operations at Promotion, spoke about more regular events in Europe, Sean Brady’s victory over Leon Edwards, and Molly McCann’s retirement.
To the London crowd
Overall, I’m back in London. I’m happy to be back as there was a successful event in Manchester last year. This March date seems to be working very well for the calendar. I’m happy to be back. There were many European broadcasters. Overall I thought the fight was great.
About Brady’s performance
It was good to see a truly dominant performance by Brady. Really funny – I didn’t think it was going to go that way, and I don’t think the crowd would. But it was pretty impressive – a rather impressive performance.
Sean Brady, exit of UFC Fight Night 255 London Cage (via byhaljestam)
About planning UK events
We don’t base it on fighter planes. This is like a calendar set 6-9 months later. We always try to be in the UK twice a year. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s not. It is also driven by other events that we want to do across Europe, across the Middle East and North Africa. But usually we go in every year trying to reach. Two times in the UK. That’s possible (we’ll be back in 2025).
About Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones
What Dana (white) and matchmaker always do is to let the fighter jets be themselves. And if they want to jump into the story and keep it moving forward, it won’t hurt. They’re going to do whatever they want to do. They’re not going to let them know not to do that. What do you think? I think it’s great. I think everyone is really interested in watching this fight. I don’t know when they’ll be together. I think Dana dropped some hints that the news could soon arrive, but in terms of timing, he doesn’t mention anything at this point.
John Jones, Tom Aspinoll
About Molly McCann’s retirement
She mentioned in her retirement speech, which she might want to play a role (at the company). And you see some of the athletes we have (after) their UFC fighting careers and the impact they have in different regions around the world. This means that there is no good example other than the Brazilian (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira. The guy is there every week. He is building a house. He collects money and runs a clinic with underprivileged young people. I think there is a real role for many athletes who have come and have successful careers, whether they are global or local. They want to give back, help us continue to build our brand using the skills they have, the profiles they have built to impact our community. Often it comes in the form of education. All of these athletes are well taught about everything about life and are now giving back (big). So, from the perspective of the ambassador’s role, I don’t think she did that well in her career, but now I think the opportunity to immerse herself in the more meaningful things in her life is something we really have to build up.
Molly McCann, UFC London Retirement Gloves Off (via UFC)
Possible Primetime Events in France
We have paid a lot for each of these views in certain circumstances, in the middle of the night. We did them local primetime. We talked extensively about the limitations that pay-per-views must be made in non-traditional broadcast window times in North America. It works in Australia as it is a Sunday afternoon event. It’s more challenging for us to hold events in pay-per-views in Europe and the Middle East. That being said, we talked about Manchester. So, can we do that? yes. We haven’t seen some of the restrictions that may be obtained from venue or ordinance perspectives. You may not be able to obtain permission. You need to think about transportation. There are many times when you can hold events and pay-per-view events in the middle of the night. So, last summer’s Manchester main card was 3am, so the main battle wasn’t actually walking until 5:30am. Can you do that in Paris? I don’t know if I asked a question or not. If so, we might be. It was a big gate, but one of the loudest crowds we have and always sold out three events in a row. Manon (French Fiorottes are competing in Montreal. We should see Benoit St. Dennis return at some point soon. So, can you fill in (the arena in the middle of the midnight)? I think the athletes you need to sell enough tickets in the middle of the night can do it at an average average ticket price.
About the European Octagon Promotion and its success
That definitely encourages. We’ve heard a lot about RTL (European Broadcasting Group). I think they will air the event on RTL. We just renewed our deal in Germany and they talked a lot about the growth of the sport and cited what the Octagon is doing. What does it do for us? The pipeline will be stronger for athletes in those particular regions as it clearly helps generate many local athletes. It will help mess up the fan base and increase the value of the broadcast and media, indicating that there is demand from a ticket sales perspective. So it’s very encouraging – the next possible window we will consider in 2026, not 2025, and that has partially related to the broadcast situation we have in the US
At an event in Spain
This is the situation in Spain. You have to find the right destination. We talked a lot about it – we’re not going to a venue without a roof. For the integrity of athletes, products, products, products, it makes no sense. We want the arena to be equal and do not have the same kind of weather variables that are found in soccer, soccer, golf, etc. If there are venues that are very challenging for us and we can go to, we will continue to see Spain. That being said, there is a very strong interest in Dana’s front line, so you need to know where to go.
Ilia Topuria cornering for UFC 312
The Lightweight Future of Ilia Topuria
It’s all social, right? It’s very busy – (he’ll be a) New age, new persona. I don’t know what he’s cooking, but it seems he has something interesting. I don’t know (who will he fight). That’s not up to me. I don’t know the answer to that question. I’m sure they have a long list of guys. I’m sure he has a long list of guys. If he has a formula, I think he’s bringing it to the market and he’s already promoting quite a bit heavily. I’m sure he’s not the only one. The path he wants to do (on) – I’m sure in this new chapter it’s about what he wants to achieve, what weight classes, what belts and what he wants to achieve.
At an event in Africa
We have a fairly broad relationship with Abu Dhabi’s Cultural and Tourism Bureau, and the way we manage our relationships with them is not just Abu Dhabi but the perspective. The perspective is regional, and this region is the Middle East and North Africa. Therefore, when working with them, there are various countries identified as our destinations over the next few years. We were in Abu Dhabi and in Riyadh. But we’ve been thinking about Bahrain. I was thinking about Qatar. I was thinking about Jordan. There were a few different countries in mind. So, there is nothing to disclose at this time, especially with regard to North Africa. But I think Continent Africa is really convincing for us. We’ve been talking for a while about whether it’s South Africa or Rwanda. There are several different options. There is a lot of logistics. You have to have the right athlete.
In a new market
That’s a big priority. There is so much excitement to unlock new markets and you can’t do it that often. I did it in France a few years ago and it was a really great ride. There are several other countries we are about to reach this year. And there will be some announcements in the coming weeks, if possible. But it’s a truly special moment, as there’s obviously a pent-up demand. There’s this whole concept of giving back to fans who have been seeking it for a while. So I think it really means something to us, and you always say, “Hey, you have to come to my country, and here’s how to make it work. There’s a connection. The government has sponsors you can reach out to.” So, in many cases, the best supporters are athletes. Athletes play a major role in this. Personally to me, and as you know, the incredible teams that the UFC has in the seven different offices we have around the world are important to them too. That’s what we really want, but it’s not as easy as trying to book an O2 or return to Paris.
New old gloves
Dana (White), Sean (Shelby), Mick (Maynard) and Hunter (Campbell) have spoken to many different athletes and it seems that everyone wants to go back to their old gloves. There are other gloves until that is not the plan. But for now, I think we’ll continue to roll with them.
January 18, 2025. Inglewood, California, USA. Jiri Prochazka (Red Gloves) reacts after poking his eyes against Jamahal Hill (not in the photo) in Intuit Dome at UFC 311. Required Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Immagn Image
When I returned to Amsterdam
The two events I had in Rotterdam were amazing. Because Amsterdam is really cumbersome to do with the permission process in Amsterdam. If you can believe it, it is very difficult for us to get permission. (The Netherlands) For us in 25 years, there is probably no possibility. In 2026, we are confident that we have new terms with our current partners at ESPN and anyone interested in partnering with us in the US and potentially other countries around the world. And we are very intentional about this. There are limits to what we can do now, and our intention is to make sure we have a higher ceiling at more events that we can do in Primetime. That’s when we can think about returning to Germany and Prague and of course to the Netherlands.
When I returned to Poland
I think there was a very successful gate. There have been many successful events. There is no shortage of athletes. There are also some destinations we go to. If you have a limited number of events you can do in Primetime and don’t really want to do midnight events, Paris, London, or some of the destinations where athletes are growing, here’s the team. There are major media transactions. London is our destination. I can’t remember the last time I had this press conference with many media outlets. It guarantees that a considerable number (of ticket sales) were outside the UK that is a destination. It makes it easy for people to come. We have very healthy relationships with Parsat and many other Polish partners and are listed on the 2026 and up.
For more information about the card, see the MMA Junkie Event Hub for UFC Fight Night 255.
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