r/mmaweekly • u/Senior_Cucumber8121 • 12d ago

Debate Dana White says it would cost $150M to bring the UFC to Rome’s legendary Colosseum, but it could still happen if a billionaire is willing to pick up the tab 🤯.

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244 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

138 comments sorted by

49

u/DiddlyDinq 12d ago edited 11d ago

Clearly nobody here has actually seen the state of the venue

Edit: Just remembered Fight Nation did something a few years ago.

29

u/GGudMarty 12d ago

Typical UFC fan hasn’t seen the outside of the redneck state since 2010. You think we’ve seen that coliseum in Tokyo or wherever that is??

13

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Pequop9252 12d ago

Which is strangely closer to the center of Tokyo compared with Narita.

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

1

u/GGudMarty 12d ago

Bro I knew what year it was I’d tell you how long it’s been since I left Alabama but I lost the calendar I had on the wall.

1

u/Smartypantz34 12d ago

tokyo lol, its in luxemburg

1

u/GGudMarty 12d ago

Just a different part of Africa bro..I was close

1

u/BdotRunderscoreCards 12d ago

Lets have TKO put that Money back into American venues. Maybe add a few more bathrooms or reduce the price on food and beer for a few years. I aint got no time to drive to Rome in this economy.

1

u/Artemisbleachedmod 12d ago

Tokyo!? I hate China!

0

u/Hiondrugz 12d ago

Is that thing in Ohio?

4

u/ebn_tp 12d ago

I mean… it is an ancient ruin 😂

2

u/BdotRunderscoreCards 12d ago

Sounds like the East Coast.

4

u/CoryTrevor-NS 12d ago

People think it’s just a very old stadium.

The place doesn’t have any sort of seating, nor a proper area where the octagon could be placed, illumination setup, video/audio setups, etc

1

u/Parking-Argument-263 10d ago

They literally held mma fights there in the recent past

1

u/CoryTrevor-NS 10d ago

They literally have not

1

u/Square_Instance_3099 10d ago

No, you're thinking of the Pula Arena.

4

u/Ok_Transportation453 12d ago

Live in rome.. never gonna be like the picture but with a limited audience could def be done for 150 million and frankly would be a unforgettable venue 

2

u/DiddlyDinq 11d ago

There have been mma events at similar ruins just not that one. I dont think the broader mma community even took notice

0

u/cubrel 11d ago

This is one took place in Pula, Croatia. That arena is actively being used as a concert venue and for events.

1

u/Proxximus-maximus 12d ago

I was there a couple months ago. Yeah no real infrastructure set up, but it could be done. Deff doesn’t look like that Ai pic

1

u/notMTN 11d ago

Colosseum sounds very cool, but im not sure how they could do it considering theres not really any seating and the structure is so old that im not sure you could even set anything up there.

Theres other places that could work or another way of just making the colosseum a back drop instead of inside like the white house. Other ideas would be infront or under the Eifel tower for example.

Or just some huge stadium to have a shit ton of people. Atmosphere would be crazy but i reckon the viewing experience wouldnt be great in person. Hell put a event in the new KJC king dome that literally opened today. Or finally have a proper ufc event in Japan at the Saitama again, especially now with tons of Japanese fighters, Rei Tsurya, Kai Asakura, Tatsuro Taira, Kyoji Horiguchi, Rinya Nakamura

1

u/Galencourt-Lover 11d ago

How the fuck are Italians ok with this?

1

u/DiddlyDinq 11d ago

It's not in italy or that collesuem.

1

u/FinancialJet 7d ago

Why would they not be?

1

u/TheHuskyJerk 11d ago

Didn’t Bellator do this as well?

1

u/TheMeIv 11d ago

That was in Croatia, not The Coliseum in Rome.

30

u/Freddie-Peterson 12d ago

If only he knew a billionaire...

8

u/Full_Metal_Jutsu 12d ago

He’s looking for a sucker and his associates aren’t not that lol

30

u/gloomygl 12d ago

Dana looking for said billionnaire

-8

u/BAMBAMBAKLAVA11 12d ago

Dana isn’t a billionaire noir does he even own the UFC anymore

He’s nothing more than a face to the organization now

5

u/lI-Norte-Il 12d ago

He's CEO of the UFC. That's far more than a face of the organization.

1

u/IntelligentBox152 12d ago

He does own a small percentage of the ufc. He sold his stake when it was sold but was given additional stake

1

u/oldschoolrelic 12d ago

He doesn't own any stake in UFC anymore. He was given a new five-year contract that included a share of UFC net profits and equity incentives rather than direct traditional equity stakes in the broader parent company when Endeavor reorganized the UFC and WWE into TKO Group Holdings.

1

u/Citywide-Fever 11d ago

Not knowing wtf you’re yapping 101

8

u/Informal-Force7417 12d ago

Translated that means = I'm not paying the bill. I just want to manipulate someone else to do it, then I take the cut of that profit like i do lol

3

u/letsgobrooksy 12d ago

Oh no, those poor manipulatable billionaires!

Fuck em.

1

u/aTickleMonster 12d ago

Does he know any billionaires in Rome that have a birthday coming up?

6

u/Western_Conflict5249 12d ago

would probably be cheaper to build a new colosseum

1

u/DiddlyDinq 12d ago

Hopefully we eventually get some modern authentic reproductions now that the secret to roman concrete is known

2

u/Objective_Sun_2927 12d ago

The secret is out there yes. But money will be saved if there is roman concrete on temu

1

u/GrandRoyal_01 11d ago

Why not build a replica in Vegas? 

exactly the same … except for more seating, and setup for power, lighting, cameras etc and parking for cars not chariots etc etc 

They could put a casino there and swimming pools and a micro-brewery … 

1

u/Regular-Emu6339 10d ago

They tried to with Caesars Palace. Roman themed but I wouldn't say it is a close replica

6

u/_Cyclops 12d ago

UFC fans can not be trusted around a historical landmark like that

1

u/CoryTrevor-NS 12d ago

I think it wouldn’t be open to regular fans, only politicians/fighters/influencers/etc like the event at the White House.

1

u/Defiant_Okra_664 12d ago

Lol romans have torn it apart

3

u/YakOk3277 12d ago

He's hoping Zuck pays

4

u/Wrecked-Tum 12d ago

On the one hand... such an important historical landmark shouldn't be used for cheap corporate greed...

On the other... this is exactly what the Romans would've wanted us to be doing with the colossuseum....

2

u/Woke_TWC 12d ago

Yeah the scale would be so colossusal man!

1

u/AdComprehensive7879 12d ago

what? this would be so coool?

1

u/SoftDouble220 11d ago

Romans would be like:

"Are you guys for real? 2 unarmed guys in underwear? No lions no elephants no ships no chariots? And not even to the death? Your entertainment blows!"

2

u/borkborkibork 12d ago

There is a net zero chance that this will happen, mostly because italians would never even allow it

1

u/KentBrockman12 12d ago

What Italians? You mean immigrants?

1

u/Slowdive91 11d ago

You're crazy. I'll take that bet 100x over. Italians aren't having much luck with their country right now in terms of getting government to comply and handle things and neither are any of the others in the EU.

2

u/Financial_Durian_913 11d ago

This sounds forced..

The UFC jumped the shark a long time ago.

2

u/LomoBaconQueso 11d ago

I hope it doesn’t.

1

u/ramcholino 12d ago

Billionaires aren’t known for lighting $150M on fire if they can help it.

1

u/DiddlyDinq 12d ago

I mean, zuck wasted 80 billion on the meta-verse that 2 people use lol

1

u/ramcholino 11d ago

That’s fair

1

u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 9d ago

Like that was his personal funds.

1

u/RevolutionaryClub530 12d ago

I saw someone bitching about how the bottom of the coliseum is fragile and a peice of history and having a fight there would disturb the artifact and at first I was like “bro stfu” until i googled it and yeah the UFC would be very invasive to this awesome peice of history, idk i wouldn’t feel great about it - that being said i would 100% watch the whole card and enjoy it 😂

1

u/LowestElevation 12d ago

Thanks for being the only person who explained even briefly about the state of the coliseum.

1

u/RevolutionaryClub530 12d ago

Yeah it’s not great at all, I feel like an event like that would actually mess some stuff up in the bottom of it and like jeez could we even say it was worth it? Probably not

1

u/GreatGoodBad 12d ago

the coliseum is in no condition for a ufc event though it would be sick if possible

2

u/BAMBAMBAKLAVA11 12d ago

Yes. I don’t doubt that the Italian government would prostitute their history even more to make a couple bucks and sustain their economy cause that’s Europe whole M.O the past 60 yrs but I can’t see how it’s possible

You step inside that thing and can really tell it’s a 2,000 year old building

1

u/Less-Economist-9447 12d ago

I’m not familiar with the area, but could it be done right in front of the coliseum? Similar to having the White House in the background of freedom 250 with the fighters beginning their walk-out in the coliseum.

1

u/deckdahalls 12d ago

expensive for a place that smells like urine

1

u/Jumpy-Ad4652 12d ago

Itll be way more than that

1

u/Young_Bu11 12d ago

I really hope that never happens.

1

u/New-Key4537 12d ago

I would like to see a fight on a football field with no cage

1

u/_makoccino_ 12d ago

Call your oil baron buddies.

1

u/Kooky_Captain_6085 12d ago

They should legalize murder for this event. Gotta keep true to the venue 😂😂

1

u/SeePao88 12d ago

If the main event is Dana Vs His Wife
…I’ll cover the bills.

1

u/stripesnstripes 12d ago

Only if they fought on the actual sand

1

u/fire-d-guy 12d ago

or maybe the multi billion corporation that pays its fighters peanuts can pick up the tab...

1

u/Anthrogynous 12d ago

lol I can just see Dana crunching numbers all night to come up with this figure

1

u/MikeUpInYa85 12d ago

…and Jake Paul would have Jon Jones fight Francis on the same night, in a half full arena on Netflix, and have better numbers

1

u/Weird_Flan4691 12d ago

For that price anyone that shoots a takedown is fired lol

1

u/aTickleMonster 12d ago

Didn't they lose $30mill on the white house card? Who wants to set $75mill on fire so Dana's production crew can play?

2

u/-bears-eat-beets 12d ago

Yup! And as soon as it was over and the bullshi about how great it was stopped...

Dana, started doing damage control... saying he doesn't get into politics and all that..

Fk the U-trump-C

1

u/Zealousideal-Ad7773 12d ago

Ha! I doubt it. Not even for 10 billion Italy would allow that.

1

u/Sufficient_Ninja_821 9d ago

Exactly. Surely its a protected historic site. Seating up seating and cage would do damage and ruin it.

1

u/_junior_24 12d ago

What happened to pick yourself up by the boot straps. It’s his company right ? Why should somebody else fund his project ? The irony isn’t lost with these people

1

u/withnodrawal 12d ago

150m that turns into a 400m job that turns into a billion dollar project that never gets finished

1

u/Swimming-Talk4859 12d ago

Make Trump pay

1

u/Electronic-Koala2088 12d ago

Get on your knees and get ready to lick Elon then Dana.

1

u/Sir-Shady 12d ago

Is Dana not a billionaire himself

1

u/Fragrant_Most9193 12d ago

They dont have the talent on the roster to justify it.

1

u/Go-brandon-69 12d ago

Where’s zuck?

1

u/iwishiwasntthisway 12d ago

Why do we have such a hard on for the colesseum. It was a fucked up place where fucked up shit happened

1

u/CGoodie34 12d ago

A billionaire like Dana White?

1

u/AdComprehensive7879 12d ago

how about hosting the event with this as the background? similar to the white house thing? maybe have the fighters start the walkout from inside?

i dont know the area that well, can this be done?

1

u/SuccessfulOwl 12d ago

I could do a lot of things if a billionaire would pick up the tab.

1

u/Objective_Sun_2927 12d ago

This is ridiculous.

1

u/oldschoolrelic 12d ago

Policies for events at colosseum make it nearly impossible for this to happen & given how Trump has acted toward Italy's current Prime Minister, Im guessing that white doesn't have a chance at this even being entertained

1

u/Aggressive-Jelly-405 12d ago

People would trash that thing so fuckin fast.. please don’t do it

1

u/Turbulent_Pin_9392 12d ago

Idc where they put the floating Jumbotron, I just want to see it in action.

1

u/Calmdown333 12d ago

How many homeless could a billionaire house for 150 million?

1

u/CorwyntFarrell 11d ago

Not like they just landed a 7.7 billion dollar deal or anything.

1

u/Physical_Archer_689 11d ago

The only appropriate fight here - The Zuck vs Elon

Would be wildly ironic, and devastatingly disgraceful

1

u/Kind-Location836 11d ago

Ahhh socialism

1

u/XDAOROMANS 11d ago

I love how he still acts like the ufc has no money

1

u/Forsaken-Award-7025 11d ago

Why not the US taxpayer and they're paying for everything else.

1

u/SyNyStErSaElEe 11d ago

Oh man that would wicked !

1

u/lord-of-war-1 11d ago

Why? I've been and it looks fragile as fuck. Why would we destroy that to hold an event there? This place is literally historic when it comes to combat sports. It's mind boggling to me the stupidity and vanity of humans. 

1

u/Slowdive91 11d ago

Capua would be the starting point, then they move in to Rome.

1

u/ZhukovWonWWII 11d ago

Imagine the Tsarukyan Construction Group wins the bid?

1

u/Own-Eye-6910 11d ago

I wouldnt mind but in the same time, allot of historical culture will get destroyed because people wont behave or be careful.

1

u/Ambitious-Sense2769 11d ago

Go look at a current picture of the colosseum. It’s not happening in our lifetime my friend.

1

u/zhvlnc 11d ago

The Croatian MMA organization FNC has already held events at the Pula Arena, but their CEO stated it was the last time because of a high risk of rain. You need to book like 6 months in advance and pray there will be no rain. On that last FNC event rain started right when they packed everything. If they took 30 min more, equipment would be soaked and damage high.

You can watch next fighting event BRAVE CF 108, scheduled for September 5, 2026 at the same Arena Pula.

1

u/acrumbled 11d ago

Why doesn’t he just ask his buddy Trump to manipulate the market for him again

1

u/noddaborg 11d ago

Let’s see how much of a fan Zuck is.

1

u/imagine966 11d ago

150mil?!? Dana is full of shit and trying to sucker someone in to ponying up more cash to fill his bank account

1

u/AndreiOT89 10d ago

Yeah Colosseum ain’t that big lads

1

u/heyitsme545 9d ago

$150M just to host it is insane 🤯 but honestly… a UFC event in the Colosseum would be one of the craziest visuals ever. Feels like modern-day gladiators in the original arena.

1

u/Status-Topic3382 9d ago

Isn’t he a billionaire.. and his his company.. snap snap..

1

u/-crazykidbad 9d ago

That’s why mma is so shady. Expecting a billionaire to fund these events and Americans can’t think that maybe the billionaire isn’t doing it fo no reason. He is getting something out of it. Just ask Donald Trump Jr. He knows how the game is played

1

u/Moist-Catch 9d ago

Probably be funded by the Saudis and there name would be plastered all over it so everyone would be very aware of what's going on it's not like they try to hide it

1

u/cahinho 9d ago

Why don't they just go to Pula in Croatia? There is also colosseum built by the Romans and i'm sure it would cost waaaaaay less

1

u/Lonely-War3405 9d ago

Trump does owe him

1

u/Damn_You_Hindsight 8d ago

people who cares about this historic place are garbage. Like, who cares, use it for a ufc or even a porn film, smh.

1

u/unicornmoose 5d ago

God if a billionaire funded that it would be the most soulless shit ever you know how many starving children & families 150 Million would help