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It has not been the easiest couple of months for UFC President Dana White. Fighters are "retiring" over money and there is clearly a rift going on within the organization.
Those are other topics for another time.
This is about how White also faced significant criticism for putting on fights during the Rona epidemic. For all of that, the cards have gone off smoothly and his organization has provided a blue print for bringing back other sports.
They did a card on March 13 with no fans, then stepped back. Since then, there have been five fight cards and just two positive tests, both from the first event back where a fighter and his cornerman test positive and were quarantined. The event went off without a hitch beyond that. The four since then have gone smoothly. That is enough of a sample size to call what White has done a success.
For all the criticism that White was risking lives to make money, he was simply ahead of the curve. Other sports are trying to come back now, and they have an inspiration.
It might not work for everyone else, because fight camps keep contact with others low, and the actual fight involves just two people and a ref. Basketball, hockey and soccer bring a lot of people into contact and close proximity, so the risk will be higher.
But these sports should come back to give us distraction in a world that is falling apart around us. The economic impact they have will be helpful as well. White has shown them the way.
But it was not just the UFC. Horse racing has been going full bore without fans the entire time. Very few cases have been reported. The no fans policy has had zero impact on the televised product and in fact, record betting has taken place at many tracks due to online wagering. There are a lot more people to come into contact with at a racetrack, and so far, that has been a success as well. No one has really criticized the tracks. That burden fell on White.
As the other sports come back, they should thank White for being the first and absorbing all the criticism that came with it.
White was determined and had a vision, and he followed through with it. So far, it has to be called a complete success.
Now maybe the same will happen for the other sports.
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For the Houston Rockets, it's already been an exciting offseason, with the team trading for NBA superstar Kevin Durant earlier this week. The Rockets also inked extensions with big man Steven Adams and head coach Ime Udoka in recent weeks.
Apparently the action isn't slowing down as the Rockets have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with guard Fred VanVleet.
Senior ESPN NBA analyst Sham Charania is reporting that VanVleet intends to sign a 2-year, $50 million contract with Houston.
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet intends to sign a two-year, $50 million contract to stay with the franchise, with a player option in 2026-27, sources tell ESPN. Rockets are declining VanVleet's $44.9 million team option and land the new deal with Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul. pic.twitter.com/rwtEUptBQT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2025
Charania is also reporting that VanVleet has a player option for the 2026-2027 season.
In 60 games, VanVleet averaged just over 14 points and 5.6 assists per game last season.
This is a team-friendly deal for the Rockets that gets them below the luxury tax line, helping them avoid the repeater tax. It also opens up the full $14.1 million mid-level exception to add more talent to the roster. For VanVleet, it's more total money and an extra year of security.
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