Exec on Perth's best moments, judge relieved mid-event, more

Following UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia, UFC General Manager Dave Shaw met with the media to discuss the event and other UFC news.

Shaw goes on to discuss many future international UFC potentials and more.

Support

Firstly, I just want to say a quick thank you to the Western Australian Government who, through Tourism Western Australia, have been instrumental in the partnership that has helped bring UFC 3O5 to Perth again this week. I also want to thank the Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook and Deputy Premier for Tourism Rita Saffioti who were not only here today but attended the open training sessions and weigh-in. They have had support all week from their teams and from them as individuals which is great. And finally, I just want to say thank you to the Western Australian Combat Sports Commission under the leadership of Anthony Grover because we had another successful event in Perth.

Technical details

TOPSHOT – China's Li Jingliang (in red) is knocked out by Brazil's Carlos Prates in their men's welterweight bout of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 305 at the Perth Arena in Perth on August 18, 2024. (Photo by COLIN MURTY / AFP) / – IMAGE FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE – (Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images)

Gate receipts today were $5,477,097. Attendance was 14,152 – sold out, slightly more than last time. The fight of the night, no surprises there: (Mateusz) Gamrot and (Dan) Hooker, and the performance bonuses went to Kai Kara-France and Carlos Prates. It was the highest grossing event we've ever had at the RAC Arena, beating all the merch records we've had in this country for the arena shows we've done.

The audience in Perth

My perspective was actually not too dissimilar to the last time we were here. I think people were shocked at how early it was – doors opened at 5:30am, people were queuing outside, I think there was strong beer right away. There were over 5,000 people for the first fight, despite the weather being awful for a couple of hours this morning. The event had its ups and downs, but overall it picked up and I think the last three fights on the main card delivered. The co-main event and main event were both excellent. The Hooker fight was excellent. It was really nice to be back in Perth. I mentioned a few weeks ago when we were in Abu Dhabi the support you get when you have a partnership like that with the government – and this week it was very much in evidence not just because of the Australia vs South Africa rugby match, but also because of UFC 305. There was a great vibe in the city and we're proud to be a part of it.

On renewing a contract to continue bringing cards to Perth

Fans look on as South Africa's Dricuc Du Plessis arrives to fight New Zealand's Israel Adesanya in the men's middleweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 305 at the Perth Arena in Perth on August 18, 2024. (Photo by COLIN MURTY / AFP) / – IMAGE FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE – (Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images)

Yes, 100 per cent (we're interested). … There's general interest in speaking to some of our partners and government officials later this week. What's clear is that they want to make Perth an international destination for all kinds of events. Coldplay was here, rugby was here, we're coming back. They want WWE back here. So we want to be a part of that. It's really important to us and yes, the conversations will continue.

Would the UFC ever do a combo show with the WWE?

That's a good question. I think in terms of the type of combined product, we could well have a TKO weekend here. Last time they were at Optus (stadium). We're going to stay at RAC. We're not going to do a stadium event so it might make sense and the WWE guys have built their schedule so you get multiple events. So maybe they want to do something in Australia for 'Smackdown' or WWE 'Raw' and NXT events etc. But for us, our only focus is to get back to Australia sometime soon or early 2025.

About a future return to New Zealand

I wish I had an answer for you. We've had a couple of guys from Auckland come over today to talk to us and talk a little bit about our next trip to New Zealand. I don't have an answer. It's always on the priority list. It's always something we're looking at. For you, it's not really an answer, but this is one of those situations where we'd love to come back to Auckland. The other thing you're probably seeing on social media is the Kiwi fighters with Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) and Sean (Shelby) and Mick (Maynard) are very vocal about coming back to the UK. That will certainly play a big part in the decision as well.

On the 30:27 result in Tai Tuivasa's defeat

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 18: Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname fights Tai Tuivasa of Australia in a heavyweight bout during UFC 305 at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

(The broadcast team) probably spoke to Dave Lewis. But don't forget that the Western Australian Combat Sports Commission – they're the lead committee here, so they're responsible for those decisions. And I guess somebody made the decision on the performance that probably wasn't worth bringing in for the rest of the evening. They're good checks and balances. I think everybody has to be held to a high standard. It doesn't matter – if I'm not doing my job or you're not doing your job, maybe it's good to sit on the bench for a while and think the job through, work out how to get back on track and do it better next time. I think generally in life it's a decent principle. But it's not my place to say whether it was right or wrong for the commission.

On the return of the UFC to Canada

At least (twice a year we want to be in Canada). Canada is such an important market for us for a number of reasons. I mean, still one of the. Their contribution to our overall revenue, I mean, the relationship we have now with Sports Net has been great since the beginning of this year and our pay-per-view business is as strong as it's been in a long time. So yeah, at least two.

About Africa’s potential

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 18: Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa enters the Octagon to face Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in a middleweight championship bout during UFC 305 at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

I think we're probably closer than we've been in a long time and there's significant interest from multiple countries. The situation with Dricus (Du Plessis) is a difficult one. I mean, he's a champion. Are we going to do a pay-per-view there in the same time zone as the UK? We've just done the event in Manchester so that's absolutely possible. But we also want to make a good first impression, right? So if we're coming to continental Africa for the first time, do we want to do an event in the middle of the night? And there are financial considerations. If it's a pay-per-view event that we're bringing to South Africa or another country, what's the gate like and how does it compare to the alternate location for that pay-per-view event? One thing is clear when I think back to Manchester: if Dana (White) wants to put on an event for the fans and for the growth of the sport, despite any headwinds or operational challenges in terms of where it needs to be and when it needs to be booked, then you know he's going to make the decision. The short answer is we're targeting a few different countries – nothing to report at the moment. But that's definitely a thing for 2025. We're not waiting much longer.

On the holding of events in uncovered stadiums

We've done, I think, five stadium events in our history. Two of them were in (Australia). I think Curitiba (Brazil) was kind of an indoor-outdoor event, but generally we've done stadium events with a roof. We don't want to take the weather risk. The production costs would be tremendous if we were dealing with the weather. And then there's the risk of the field being really negatively impacted. If the octagon gets wet from rain, if our equipment gets wet, it just doesn't work. On the WWE side, they're probably more geared towards stadium events because of the stage presence. The production is just different than ours. If we had planned an event for Saturday night last night and had that weather, it would have been a complete disaster. So we're just going to make the decision not to go to a stadium that doesn't have a roof.

His favorite moment at UFC 305

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 18: Dan Hooker of New Zealand fights Mateusz Gamrot of Poland in a lightweight bout during UFC 305 at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Oh God – the Hooker fight. It was incredible. There was a moment after the second – you all probably saw that moment after the second when he got cleaned out. Everything was good and he couldn't get up from his chair fast enough to get back to the center of the octagon because he wanted to fight so bad. It was great. It was incredible.

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.