The news that the UFC would hold an event for US President Donald Trump at the White House sent shockwaves through the combat world.
The White House card is taking place on June 14th and will be headlined with a lightweight title fight between Spain’s Ilia Topuria and America’s Justin Gaethje, as the pair will be facing off for the undisputed belt.
With UFC London just gone, Rob Smith Media from Pure Digital PR took the opportunity to ask every UK fighter on the card which venue they would choose and who their dream opponent would be for a UK equivalent of the White House event.
Shanelle Dyer – Shanelle called for a royal matchup against whoever holds the belt for a fight at Buckingham Palace: “Imagine fighting at Buckingham Palace! That would be so sick, and I’d want to fight whoever is holding the belt.”
Shem Rock – In classic Shem fashion, he gave a humorous Liverpool themed response: “It has to be in Liverpool, doesn’t it? We are the fighting capital of this country, so the M&S Bank Arena, and for banter, it has to be Anshul (Jubli) innit.
“But for a real fight, I’d want someone skilled, maybe Dan Hooker with the Paddy (Pimblett) beef going on. I’m fed up with fighting these guys who are silent and boring, who don’t talk. It’s entertaining when I get someone who I know is going to give a bit of back and forth,” Shem said.
Luke Riley – Luke went straight in for the biggest venue possible, as he stated he wants to fight at Wembley Stadium against fellow rising star Kevin Vallejos: “The UFC has never done a stadium show in the UK, so maybe Wembley against Kevin (Vallejos).”
Lerone Murphy – Lerone is Manchester born and bred, as he called for a fight at the Co-Op Live Arena against Alexander Volkanovski: “It would have to be in Manchester, of course, I’m born and raised in Manchester, and I would like to fight Alex Volkanovski, the GOAT of the featherweight division.”
Nathaniel Wood – Nathaniel is the pride of London. It came as no surprise when he stated that he would love to fight at Wembley Stadium for the belt: “The only dream place I would like to fight at is Wembley Stadium, I think that would be amazing, 80,000 people, I think the UFC could pull it off.
“I’d want to fight whoever has got the belt at the time,” Nathaniel said.
Christian Leroy Duncan (CLD) – CLD followed suit from Nathaniel’s answer as he called for a fight at Wembley against the former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya: “It would have to be Wembley, and there is a list of names that could be exciting fights. But a fun fight for myself and the fans on a card like that would be Izzy.”
Louie Sutherland – Louie chose convenience for his answer as he wants to fight down the road from him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: “I would say 10 Downing Street, but f**k that, it’s boring. One for me would be the Spurs Stadium. I am a massive Spurs fan, and then I could pop across the road, grab some chicken and chips, and head to my nan’s house.
When asked who he would want to fight, Louie simply said: “F**king anybody!”
Mason Jones – It should come as no surprise that Mason Jones chose a Welsh venue, as the Welshman would love to bring the UFC to his home country: “There is only one venue in Wales that is big enough (Principality Stadium), and I’d love to headline that card against whoever wants to give me the best fight.”
Mario Pinto – Mario is on the same wavelength as Shanelle Dyer, as he wants to fight at Buckingham Palace: “Buckingham Palace maybe, and who’s been released? Who’s the easiest matchup? Lukas Brzeski, bring him back!”
Sam Patterson – Sam would love to bring the UFC to his home of Watford: “Let’s go to Watford, Vicarage Road, and I would want to fight the champ (Islam Makhachev), how about that?”
Michael “Venom” Page (MVP) – Last up was MVP, who called for a fight that he has mentioned multiple times at Old Trafford: “I’d say Old Trafford, I’d love to fight there. Again, for me, I think the Leon Edwards thing could have happened still.”