Dana White’s full reveal of the UFC 329 lineup during Francis Ngannou’s walkout at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., drew a sharp response from Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian.
White announced the entire July 11 International Fight Week event on Instagram Live while hosting UFC Fight Night 276 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, unveiling bouts including Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2, Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson’s debut opponent.
Paul blasted the timing of the announcement, saying, "Oh, the cokehead is back," before adding, "That's cool, bro. Drop it during our event. It doesn't matter. That just shows how pressed they are – little, insecure boys trying to piggyback off their event and try to put some news over top of us. It's not going to work, buddy."
Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, echoed Paul’s frustration with the timing but welcomed McGregor’s return. "On the flip side, I'm super excited Conor is back," he said. "He's one of the most engaging characters in the sport. I think it's good for the sport. I've said this numerous times: The biggest fight outside of Paul-Tyson globally is Paul-McGregor. Hopefully Conor is back and hopefully these two run it in boxing and MMA and we shatter their records all over again. Welcome back, Conor and thank you Dana for bringing him back during the Francis Ngannou walkout. That's beautiful."
