White: Secret UFC locations will stop creeps from sabotaging us

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

“There’s a lot of creepy people out there, you know? And when they find out the location, they start attacking the location and making phone calls.”

Dana White dropped bombshell news earlier this week when he revealed that UFC 249 would take place at a secret location and that future events would take place on a private island until the coronavirus emergency is over.

Asked why the location for UFC 249 was being kept secret, the UFC president said it was to deter ‘creepy people’ from attempting to sabotage the event.

“There’s a lot of creepy people out there, you know? And when they find out the location, they start attacking the location and making phone calls,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview (h/t BJPenn.com). “So (keeping the location a secret) keeps the creeps at bay.”

It has since been reported that the card is set for Tachi Palace Casino in California.

White didn’t specify the ‘creeps’ by name but the brash fight promoter has come under heavy fire from the MMA media over his comments about carrying on as usual during the coronavirus pandemic. White referred to MMA journalists and bloggers as ‘the wimpiest people on earth’ and also blasted legacy media for spreading mass fear and hysteria over COVID-19.

UFC 249, which will feature a headlining interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, will take place on April 18.