Dana White on UFC return: 'Somebody has to be first, right?'

The UFC will be the first sports competition to return in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic caused leagues to shut down in March when UFC 249 gets underway at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, May 9.

UFC boss Dana White isn't bothered by those who are against the promotion running during the virus outbreak.

While speaking with Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated, White touted the promotion's safety protocols while defiantly proclaiming he believes the time is right for professional fights to resume even if fans are currently unable to attend shows: 

"I love the fact that these guys in Jacksonville have been so receptive and helpful. Instead of fighting us, they worked with us and figured out how we could pull it off safely. Somebody has to be first, right? Eventually. You just can't hide forever. Who gets to determine how long we go without sports? It's a really weird situation, in a weird time."

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis welcomed sports leagues and competitions to the state and even suggested fans could attend events as early as the summer. 

White also spoke about the infamous "Fight Island" that he promises is a reality: 

"The infrastructure is being put in now. This place is literally going to be a UFC Fight Island — just like our training facility in Las Vegas, with the UFC Apex next door that can host concerts, comedy, stuff like that. That's what we're doing on the island. We're designing and building it for people to come in and train, with rooms and things like that. The whole island will be laid out just for fighting. …Everybody has this image in their mind of Fight Island, like something out of a video game. It will be a lot more modern than that. There won't be tiki torches or any of that s---. …We’re gonna use it a lot until the world gets normal again. We're gonna need it for our international fights — a place where people can fly in and out easily, without needing a bunch of visas and red tape."

Additionally, White spent time talking with Brian Campbell of CBS Sports HQ on Tuesday: 

"I would say the worst is people think I'm out there saying I don't care about the coronavirus and we're going to do this anyway. We know how serious the coronavirus is. We're taking it very serious. Health and safety didn't just pop up for us a few weeks ago with the coronavirus, it has always a concern for us for the last 20 years. I'm one of these type of people who likes to figure out: how do we solve this problem instead of running and hiding from it? I think we've got it figured out."

Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship will headline UFC 249. Henry Cejudo will face Dominick Cruz for the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship.