my theory:
1. dana is preparing for life after ufc. this will not be his moonlighting gig, it will be his own startup promotion and full time project. dana doesn’t like not being the boss, and currently his isn’t actually the boss. his contract won’t allow him to do mma, so boxing it is.
2. the saudi government will buy a controlling stake in ufc. they’re going to try to turn sa into a “mecca of mma” (pun intended) modeled after Las Vegas. why? because they need an economy after fossil fuel money runs dry. this is one part of a larger plan to diversify sa’s economy.
3. the ufc will become a quasi-regional mma promotion primarily concerned with projecting muslim strength. you see it headed there now. that’s no accident. someone is paying for that.
personally, i think whatever boxing promotion dana does will be successful. the whole boxing industry will collude to block him out, and it won’t work.