As Southern California continues to grapple with the devastating wildfires and fallout of the past several days, the UFC comes to town looking to provide a distraction.
In its fifth month of existence, Intuit Dome in Inglewood will host its first combat sports event Saturday, with UFC President and CEO Dana White hoping UFC 311 offers a respite from the chaos and calamity of the recent blazes that have destroyed lives and entire neighborhoods.
“That’s kind of the vibe that I’ve been getting from people that are going,” White said on “The Jim Rome Show” on Wednesday. “They’re excited to go to the fights and not think about what’s going on. What’s crazy is I was there the night the fires started. I was actually out there for meetings. That was the first night and it felt really crazy.
“For people that aren’t in L.A., we’re used to seeing, ‘Oh, there’s fires in Southern California.’ This was a whole different vibe and feeling, and it’s only gotten worse. So yeah, I think this is definitely going to be a boost for the people that live there.”
As of Thursday morning, the Palisades fire had ravaged 23,713 acres with 22% containment. The Eaton fire in Altadena was at 14,117 acres and 55% contained. In all, 25 people have died and 24 others are reported missing.
Two fighters with Southern California connections who will appear on the main card at UFC 311 are feeling for those affected by the catastrophes.
Placentia lightweight Beneil Dariush knows all too well about wildfires from when he lived in Yorba Linda. The Canyon Fire in 2017 raced up Anaheim Hills and destroyed 25 homes and more than 9,200 acres.
“It’s been tough. You have family, you have friends in L.A. who are on evacuation notice. We have people who have evacuated and then come back and I don’t know anyone who’s lost their home yet, but I’m sure probably it’s happened and I just don’t know about it,” Dariush (22-6-1) said. “So it’s been rough, but we keep in prayer and we hope that this is a wake-up call basically, for California and this is a worst-case scenario, and then we’ll be prepared for the next one.”
Last year, the UFC awarded Dariush the Forrest Griffin Community Award for his volunteerism and work with two charities: the Shlama Foundation, a non-government organization that funds humanitarian aid and community projects assisting Assyrian Chaldean Syriac people, and Promise Child Ministries, which helps fund orphanages in Haiti.
The devout Christian and father of three daughters, who received $25,000 as part of the award to go toward the charities and often donates any fight bonuses to the causes, is hopeful he can make another type of difference Saturday.
“If this is a little thing that could give them some, you know, comfort? Then it’s amazing for me. It’s a big, big joy for me. It’s a privilege for me,” said Dariush, who takes on Renato Moicano (20-5-1) on Saturday. “But I hope it can do that basically. I hope it does, you know, give them something to think about besides the fire.”
Middleweight Kevin Holland, a Riverside native who was raised by his grandparents in Ontario, says it helps put everything into perspective.
“It sucks, you know? It sucks to see homegrown,” said Holland, who now resides in Fort Worth, Texas. “It makes me want to convince my grandparents to move, come a little closer to me. It’s like, I don’t think I’ll come closer to home.”
Holland (26-12, 1 NC) arrived at media day Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles representing his roots decked out in Lakers gear, 6-foot-3 of purple and gold from hat to letterman jacket even though he’ll be competing in the Clippers’ arena Saturday.
“It’s a beautiful place to be. I’m a California boy, but I’m damn sure a Texas man,” said Holland, three days before opening the main card against Reinier de Ridder (18-2). “I miss it, it’s easy just to come back and visit. The price of living here versus the price of living there is just two completely different things. And where I fight at and what I do for my organization, I make the same amount of money no matter where I live.”
Bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, who hails from Dagestan, Russia, and occasionally trains at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, offers a different perspective.
The undefeated cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, who will take on 135-pound champ Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) in Saturday’s co-main event, isn’t convinced Saturday’s fights will cure much.
“People who lost houses, I don’t think they care about UFC now. They have problems,” Nurmagomedov (18-0) said. “Patience. Nobody can understand. We just can’t talk, just tell them. But these people lost everything. We just wish them patience.”
UFC 311
When: Saturday
Where: Intuit Dome
How to watch: early prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPNews, ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)