The UFC has always found a reason not to hold an event in Hawaii.
That might not be the case in 2018.
President Dana White, who for years has refused to hold a show at an outdoor venue like Aloha Stadium, said Friday he has changed his stance on bringing a card to the Aloha State.
At a press conference promoting UFC 220, White told an assembled group of reporters and fans in Las Vegas that they are in the process of planning a card in Hawaii. It would be held at Aloha Stadium.
“We’re working on UFC Hawaii,” White said. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ve always been afraid of doing it outside. Plus it rains like every 10 minutes there, but we’re working on it and we really want to do it and obviously with a Hawaiian champion now too it makes a lot of sense. We’re working on it.”
The UFC has never held an event in Hawaii. For a while, it cited the state’s lack of regulations as a reason to stay away. Once the sport was regulated in 2008, White said a tax the state added to the regulations made it too expensive to come here.
Once that went away, the lack of a proper venue became the reason.
The 8,000-seat Blaisdell Arena and 10,000-seat Stan Sheriff Center aren’t large enough for the UFC to justify spending all of the money it would take to do an event here.
Aloha Stadium, the only venue big enough on the island, is an outdoor venue. The possibility of inclement weather has kept the UFC away, but with the success of Waianae’s Max Holloway and other Hawaii fighters rising up the ranks, that risk might finally be worth taking.
Leslie Dance, Vice President of Market and Product Development for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, relased a statement Friday afternoon after White’s comments, saying, “We have been in ongoing discussions with UFC about staging a fight card headlined by Max Holloway at Aloha Stadium, but have yet to receive a proposal from UFC. Once a proposal is provided, it will be evaluated to determine if the sponsorship fee and terms requested are appropriate for the use of state funds.”
Holloway, the undisputed UFC 145-pound champion, is coming off two third-round TKO wins over Jose Aldo in 2017 and likely will defend his belt against Frankie Edgar next. He is the No. 4-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world and has won 12 consecutive fights since 2013.
Makaha’s Yancy Medeiros, who has won his past three fights, all in spectacular fashion, is in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Austin, Texas, in February against Donald Cerrone.
Kapolei’s Louis Smolka, who made weight at 126 pounds and is ranked No. 13 at flyweight, fights Matheus Nicolau at UFC 119 today. The fight is scheduled for 3 p.m. Hawaii time and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
Other fighters with Hawaii ties who could appear on the card include Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, Ewa Beach’s Kailin Curran, former Hilo resident Brad Tavares, Honolulu-born Travis Browne, Honolulu’s Rachel Ostovich, current Maui resident Cortney Casey and Waianae’s Russell Doane. Waianae’s Boston Salmon and Kahuku’s Dan Ige have also earned UFC contracts but have yet to fight on a UFC card.
