Dana White says the UFC will pay a tribute to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on Saturday during the UFC 247 broadcast.
Bryant, who was a partner of UFC sponsor Body Armor, tragically died in a helicopter crash with nine other passengers, including 13-year-old daughter Gianna, on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, Calif.
“This is the first fight since it happened and, yes, we’re going to do something for Kobe,” White told TMZ.
White also touched on Bryant’s involvement with the UFC, revealing that he actually was an investor in the company.
“You look at Kobe the basketball player, right? Then the guy won an Oscar, and all the other things that this guy has accomplished in his life – also he was one of the big investors in Body Armor, the company that’s a sponsor of the UFC,” White said.
“He was also an investor in the UFC, and the UFC killed it last year. I mean 2019, when I say 2019 was our best year – others years, 2019’s through the roof. It was massive. So the owners got a distribution, and Kobe got a distribution from the UFC, the Wednesday before the incident, and he was so pumped up and so excited.”
Plenty of people in the MMA community were affected by Bryant’s death, including one half of Saturday’s UFC light heavyweight championship main event, Dominick Reyes, who credits Bryant for being where he is today.
Reyes had hoped to honor Bryant by wearing his jersey throughout UFC 247 fight week, including at ceremonial weigh-ins and during his walkout, but it wasn’t allowed since fighters are required to wear Reebok gear. Bryant’s Lakers jersey is made by Nike.
Still, White had plenty of praise about Bryant.
“He was a great dude. He was a part of this company,” White said. “Kobe Bryant was a good guy in every way that you can possibly be a good guy.”
UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
