• UFC

White makes all main events five-rounders

ESPN staff
June 10, 2011
Dana White would love to make Rashad Evans v Phil Davis a five-round battle © Getty Images
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Dana White confirmed on Thursday that all main event fights, signed from this day forward, will be five-rounds bouts.

White made the announcement at the UFC 131 pre-fight press conference, and then immediately clarified that the news will not affect Saturday's main event between Shane Carwin and Junior Dos Santos.

Nor will the new regulation affect the UFC 133 encounter between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, which has already been signed.

"It should be [five rounds] but what I don't want to do to guys is, if we've already signed the bout agreement, you're mentally training for a three-round fight. For us to come back and say, it's a five-round fight, you can't do that to a guy," explained White.

Cards up to, and including, Dan Hardy's welterweight war with Chris Lytle at UFC Live are already officially signed, so Fight Night 25 could be the first card to benefit from the rule change.

"From this day forward, as we speak right here, right now, every fight that is a main event that is not a title fight will be five rounds," said White.

The UFC chief also revealed he expects to add a flyweight division of 125lbs "really soon".

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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