Dana White Raids Rivals for 20 Fighters in Bold Move After $7.7B UFC Power Play

2026 will be a new era for the UFC as their ESPN deal will cease to exist, and their new $7.7 billion deal (about $1.1 billion per year) with Skydance’s Paramount Plus will come into effect. And it seems like Dana White is already making major moves after putting pen to paper on the new broadcast deal. One of the most recent moves saw the UFC go on an unusually massive fighter-signing spree.

The world’s biggest MMA promotion, the UFC, has over 600 contracted fighters on its roster at the moment, with many claiming that the lightweight division is the most stacked one. But now, it won’t be just the lightweight division, but also others, who will see more fighters coming in and competing in those weight classes. That’s because UFC Roster Watch‘s report on X recently indicated that Dana White and Co. may have broken some kind of record.

Although there are no documented statistics on the most UFC signings in a day, it might just be today because 20 new fighters have joined the UFC. These are fighters who competed in various rival organizations, while some have come through Dana White’s Contender Series, which includes middleweight contender Michal Oleksiejczuk‘s brother, Cezary Oleksiejczuk, who has his eye on redemption.

Nobody would have seen this coming with almost two dozen fighters making their way to Dana White’s promotion. Meanwhile, there were some interesting characters who joined the UFC as well. And guess what? Of the twenty guys, one fighter not only became the oldest contract winner in the Contender Series, but also has connections to a former champion, and initially, Dana White was hesitant about signing him.

Dana White hesitantly signs Sean O’Malley’s teammate

Dana White seems to be fixated on bringing in fresh, new, and, most importantly, young fighters into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While being a fighter who’s in his early 30s could have difficulties in convincing the UFC CEO to offer a contract, it’s even more difficult for fighters who are in their late 30s. Sean O’Malley‘s teammate, Mandel Nallo, is 36 years old, which was a big issue for Dana White.

The 56-year-old was pretty vocal about his feelings on signing a fighter at an age when most are summing up their careers. However, that problem was not really big enough for Dana White not to hand Sean O’Malley’s teammate, since he knocked out his Contender Series opponent with a 1st-round knockout. “Mandel, I love the kicks to the face, the calf kick… I do not love your age, but I love your style,” said White as Nallo let out a laugh. ‘Get over here. I’m going to give you a shot.”

Well, it’s been a good day for the aforementioned twenty fighters that were signed, and Dana White would be expecting them to deliver every time they get inside the Octagon. Quite a few of them have great records, including Losene Keita, who’s making his UFC debut this weekend in Paris. We’ll have to wait and see how these fighters’ UFC careers pan out in the months and years to come.