Dana White: UFC headed for Russia, but won’t be going to Hawaii this year or anytime soon

Despite the fact that Hawaii has been able to produce two well-known mixed martial arts (MMA) champions in BJ Penn and Max Holloway, the Hawaii Tourism Authority doesn’t see any value in bringing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to “The Aloha State.”

I guess this meeting didn’t go so well.

“We were all geared up and heading to Hawaii, Max is the champion, and the tourism board shot it down,” promotion President Dana White told UFC Tonight. “We will not be going to Hawaii this year or anytime soon. We will definitely be in Russia first.”

Bummer.

The promotion will instead concentrate on making its debut in Russia. No doubt a championship win by Khabib Nurmagomedov will help expedite that process, but “The Eagle” will first have to fly past Holloway in the UFC 223 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this weekend in Brooklyn.

For much more on their 155-pound showdown click here.