"UFC Africa", "Ilia vs Islam" - Fans play guessing game as Dana White teases massive fight that's expected to take place in the fall

UFC CEO Dana White has doubled down on his earlier remarks about a major fight in the works that no MMA enthusiast could anticipate, set to take place in the fall.

In an appearance on Pardon My Take, the UFC head honcho reiterated his comments about the surprise fight, saying:

“What I was talking about in December… it is probably gonna happen and it's gonna happen in a fall fight that I'm working on… No [fans saw it coming].”

MMA Orbit shared White’s comments on their X which sparked reactions from numerous MMA fans.

One fan speculated that the big fight could be Conor McGregor’s return against Nate Diaz, writing:

“If it's in the fall it's likely in Abu Dhabi, Dana said Conor would return in the fall so my guess Is Conor versus Diaz 3. Can't see it being Jones/Aspinal at MSG cause we could see that coming.”

Another user wrote:

“UFC Africa.”

Another fan commented:

“Ilia vs Islam.”

Another user added:

“There's nothing possible that would qualify as never saw coming. Unless he found a Time Machine and rickson and Fedor are fighting.”

Check out some more fan reactions below:

Fan reactions screenshots. [Image courtesy: @mma_orbit on X]

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Dana White reflects on UFC's 'record-breaking' 2024 and teases 2025 plans

The UFC experienced a stellar year in 2024, continuing its impressive growth trajectory. During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the promotion is planning to expand into new territories and revisit cities it hasn’t hosted events in for years. White said:

"[2024] was a record year for us again… Not only as far as financially for the company but [also] breaking arena records. Next year, my focus is to go to a lot of places that we haven't been in a while or ever. [We're] trying to get into Spain, we've never done Spain.

"We're going back to LA at the beginning of the year. Going to Seattle again, probably going to hit Chicago and some of these other places we haven't been in a while."

Check out Dana White’s comments below (1:07):