UFC president Dana White sat down with Khloe Kardashian for a candid interview on management and the wild experience of protecting the UFC afloat throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the world was shutting down and pink slips had been flying quicker than an Alex Pereira left hook, White made a daring promise: no one on the UFC was getting laid off on his watch.
Khloe Kardashian Learns About UFC and COVID with Dana White
“When everybody was laying individuals off, individuals had been shedding their jobs left and proper, you had been like, ‘I’m not gonna lay anyone off. Everybody’s gonna preserve their jobs,’” Khloe Kardashian mentioned throughout their dialog. “And if I heard or learn accurately, you had been going to take a pay minimize to ensure that everybody to maintain theirs.”
Dana White clarified to Khloe Kardashian, “Not a pay minimize, I used to be going to surrender my wage and bonus. If I used to be fallacious and we couldn’t make it by way of COVID, then the corporate would take the hit. There’s no means in hell that I used to be going to let that occur. We had been both gonna determine this out or we had been gonna all go down collectively.”
Whereas many sports activities organizations halted operations and diminished workers, White and the UFC took a special method, working to maintain occasions operating and staff on the payroll. White’s feedback spotlight the corporate’s dedication to its workforce throughout a interval of uncertainty, emphasizing a staff mentality to share within the dangers introduced on by the pandemic.
The promotion shortly tailored by holding fights in empty arenas, setting up strict security protocols, and leveraging two key venues: the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and “Struggle Island” on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Beginning in Might 2020, the Apex hosted occasions with no followers in attendance, restricted workers, and rigorous cleansing and testing protocols. The stripped-back surroundings gave the broadcasts a novel really feel. Followers at house might hear each strike, nook instruction, and even the commentary
Each the Apex and Struggle Island turned templates for sports activities organizations worldwide, displaying how reside occasions might be staged safely throughout a pandemic. The UFC was the primary main sports activities league within the U.S. to return to motion.
