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Las Vegas \u2014 Dana White had not one but two big events on Saturday, with Noche UFC taking place in Glendale, AZ, and Zuffa Boxing\u2019s Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn card going down in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
The UFC CEO and President hopped from one to the other, leaving Arizona midway through Noche UFC to attend the Zuffa Boxing show. Following the event, White spoke with media outlets including Cageside Press, covering topics from both cards \u2014 and where things stand with Tom Aspinall, the UFC\u2019s reigning heavyweight champ, who is coming up on a year out of action.<\/p>\n
Valentina Shevchenko recently vacated her women\u2019s flyweight title, paving the way for Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong. With Aspinall recovering from surgery due to eye pokes suffered in his fight with Ciryl Gane last year, White was asked about the possibility of Aspinall doing the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll definitely be talking about that. It\u2019s one of those\u2014 Valentina doesn\u2019t want to tie up the division. I\u2019m assuming Tom feels the same way. I don\u2019t know personally where he is health-wise with everything, but we should clear that up soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
White also addressed the Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki fight, which earned Fight of the Night honors at Noche UFC. McMillen came close to being finished in the second round, but dug deep, and later came close to submitting Rahiki en route to a unanimous decision win.<\/p>\n
\u201cBadass fight,\u201d exclaimed White. \u201cIn that arena, the [Alexa] Grasso fight and the Tommy Gunn fight, it was insane in that place. It was incredible. The Arizona event was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The transition between the two cards went off without a hitch, White also noted. \u201cWe were able to time everything out so that UFC led right into boxing. This week went so smooth, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the boxing front, White addressed working with sanctioning bodies, to the surprise of many fans. In particular, the WBC welterweight title was on the line in the Garcia vs. Benn fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll this stuff is a work in progress. Everybody keeps saying to me \u2018I thought you weren\u2019t working with the organizations.\u2019 I\u2019m not going to be told what to do by anybody. I\u2019m not going to be told how to run my business by anybody,\u201d stated White, who adding \u201cbut a lot of these kids grew up, or are just at a level where they could fight for some of these belts. And if these guys are willing to work with us, we\u2019ll figure out how to make it happen. We want to do right by the fighters, so we\u2019ll see how it all plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n