Earlier today, the UFC announced a major partnership with the FOX Broadcasting Company that will feature 4 UFC events to be broadcast on the FOX network. The first major card to be broadcast on the network will take place on November 12, which, coincidentally or not, is the same date that pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao is set to take on Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time. When asksed if the November 12th date was selected to compete with the sport of boxing, White replied, "That's happened a couple of times. I'm actually a Manny Pacquiao fan, so I'm not out there trying to mess with Manny at all."
Indeed, there have been a number of times when the UFC has gone head-to-head with other boxing events. On September 19, 2009, UFC 103 competed with Floyd Mayweather's return to the ring when he faced Juan Manuel Marquez. On November 14, 2009, UFC 105 went head-to-head with Manny Pacquiao's clash with Miguel Cotto. It appears Dana White has no concern with scheduling events against boxing's two biggest draws as he will again take on both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao later this year when UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger takes place the same night, September 17th, as Mayweather vs. Ortiz and now their first event on FOX scheduled to take place on November 12th. "We compete for dates, not only with boxing, but with other sporting events. The NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, there's always something going on and, you know, we have to run our business, so in no way, shape, or form are we trying to go up against the Pacquiao fight," White added.
He may not be trying, but he definitely is.
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