Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions may have captured the spotlight this weekend, but UFC CEO Dana White tried to redirect attention away from MMA's Netflix debut. MVP and UFC went head-to-head on Saturday, with UFC hosting UFC Vegas 117 at the Meta Apex while MVP held the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card in Los Angeles. As former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou began his walkout for his fight against Philipe Lins on the Netflix main card, White started an Instagram live stream from the Apex to announce Conor McGregor's return. McGregor, who hasn't fought since July 2021, will rematch Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas.
Speculation about White making a big announcement to counter MVP grew throughout the week. Speaking at the post-fight press conference in Los Angeles, Paul saw the move as a telling sign from the competition. "That just shows how pressed they are," he said. "Little insecure boys trying to piggyback off our event and trying to put some news over top of us. Not gonna work, buddy." One of the biggest themes of the MVP card promotion was presenting a legitimate competitor to the UFC. Headliner Rousey, who won her fight with Carano in 17 seconds via armbar, viewed the McGregor announcement as a compliment. "It's kinda catty. But it also shows that they see MVP MMA as a threat that they would do it in that moment," Rousey said. "It's also a compliment because it elevates MVP MMA and makes their declaration that they see us as a real rival."
What made White's timing interesting was who it came at the expense of. The rift between Ngannou and White has been well-documented, but Ngannou simply wants to move on. In response to the tactic, he shrugged. "What the f* do I have to do with that? So I should stop my walkout and look what is going on with that?" Ngannou said. "I don't care, bro. Let's move on. Life goes on. I'm doing my stuff here. I'm doing good. I have no problem." Ngannou defeated Lins via first-round knockout, extending his MMA win streak to eight and remaining unbeaten since 2018 as the sport's current lineal heavyweight champion.