Despite its prominent place in combat-sports history, New York and its sporting cathedral, Madison Square Garden, have never hosted an MMA event.
That changes Saturday with UFC 205, following the legalization of pro MMA earlier this year by the state government.
With live gate perhaps already claimed and a pay-per-view record potentially in the crosshairs, UFC officials are obviously pleased with this debut event, which features a near-unprecedented three title fights and a main event between lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez and featherweight champ Conor McGregor, the most famous MMA fighter on Earth today.
So it wasn't a surprise that, at a news conference Thursday attended by Bleacher Report, even a little bit of light chair-throwing couldn't knock the grin off of UFC President Dana White's face.
"Madison Square Garden is probably the most famous arena on Earth," White said during the news conference. "When everyone starts walking in and the fights start, it’s gonna be awesome. I usually don’t stop to take it in because we’re going 100 miles an hour, but I’m going to take it all in.”
BEST. CARD. EVER.#UFC205#UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/xG1jK9SnKM
— #UFC205 (@ufc) November 10, 2016
The complex, acrimonious, yearslong battle toward New York legalization makes the moment sweeter for UFC fans and brass. And to hear White tell it, the UFC is only getting warmed up in the Empire State. The UFC recently announced that UFC 209 will take place in February at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, but its New York plans seem to go well beyond the city.
"All the support we’ve gotten from MSG, these guys have been fantastic, but we’re going to go all over New York," White said. "[We're going to] Albany and Buffalo and Syracuse, so we’ll be all over New York in the next couple years.”
With speculation circulating that the UFC's new ownership could schedule fewer events as a cost-cutting move—and with recent layoffs hitting its global operations hard—it's not unreasonable to think that New York could become a new, regular destination for big UFC cards, a sort of East Coast pole to balance out the UFC's central home in Las Vegas.
At this point, the UFC isn't getting ahead of itself. Getting UFC 205 in the books as its major opening salvo in the state is White's only job for the moment.
"This buildup for New York's been so long and so big," White said. "For the first time in Madison Square Garden, I just wanted to hit it out of the park."
Scott Harris is live in New York City for UFC 205. For more updates, follow Scott on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand.
