Dana White Says 'Prosecuting People’ Will Solve UFC’s Biggest Problem

Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian boxing promoter who's out to make meaningful change in the long-troubled sport, announced this week that he will be reducing the pay-per-view fee for his next Riyadh Season event to just $15 worldwide to de-incentivize the use of pirated broadcasts and streams.

The reduction is a boon for fight fans. It's $65 less than what a typical high-level PPV fight card costs. And for the cost-conscious who were on the fence about buying Alalshikh's October 12 undisputed light heavyweight world championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, they're probably more inclined to pay the 15 bucks now.

“People (watch) illegally because the price is high," Alalshikh told TalkSport. "This is in the future will not build boxing. If I give good fights with a good price, I will increase the fan base.”

UFC president Dana White has had the same piracy problem with the MMA company's marquee PPV events. However, instead of reducing the $79.99 fee to watch bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley in UFC 306 or light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in UFC 307, White advocates taking a much stricter approach.

"Trust me, we know exactly how to combat piracy," White said during media availability for "Dana White's Contender Series" on Tuesday.

"We go after piracy hard, and you saw a few years ago we started prosecuting people," he added. "That's how you combat piracy. You start f---ing prosecuting people for stealing."

While White continues to dig his heels, Alalshikh is looking to grow boxing by increasing its reach around the globe.

On Tuesday, Alalshikh announced he and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya will make the "Latinos Night" Riyadh Season fight card "free on TV networks and platforms all around the world."

"We care about boxing fans," Alalshikh wrote on X. "For that, this card (is) free."