UFC pledge £750,000 to families of Las Vegas shooting victims

The UFC will donate £750,000 ($1m) to the families affected by yesterday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.

More than 50 people were shot dead and more than 500 were injured by a lone gunman who fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition during a music festival on the city’s famous Strip.

The mixed martial arts organisation has its headquarters in the Nevada city and president Dana White confirmed that all UFC staff were accounted for.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

White told ESPN that the pledge was something the UFC needed to do.

“At the end of the day, this is our city – we love this place,” he said. “The first thing when we got up this morning, everybody, personally, got it together and made sure anybody they know or love was OK. Then we came in here and made sure all of our employees are OK.

“Then you start thinking about this city, our hometown, and we felt we needed to do this. This is something we needed to do.”

White has also revealed that UFC 216, which takes place this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena, will be dedicated to the city of Las Vegas.

The UFC has long-term ties with Vegas and White said he was always excited to return home to the bright lights of the Strip.

“I grew up here,” he said. “All my friends and the people I’ve worked with in the UFC for the last 17 years live here.

“I love this city. It’s good to go on vacation but when I land in Las Vegas and see those strip lights, I’m always excited to be home. This is a place people come to have fun, unwind and relax. Last night is just disgusting. It makes me sick.”