UFC president Dana White. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dana White pours cold water on NBA star’s UFC dreams

By Aaron Case | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 1:04 PM ET

Recently, Atlanta Hawks star Kristaps Porzingis let the world know that he intends to pursue an MMA career once he retires from his current sport.

“MMA is a sport that is very close to my heart,” Porzingis said, via Sportacentrs. “Number one in terms of viewing. It is something that I am passionate about…I promised one of the clubs I represented that I would not do it during my career. I am ‘saving up’ to start an MMA career after basketball.”

On Saturday, a reporter asked Dana White for his thoughts on Porzingis’ plans after UFC 319 in Chicago, and White wasn’t overly optimistic about the 30-year-old Latvian’s chances in the fight game.

“I like him. He’s a great guy,” White said in a video posted on the UFC’s YouTube account. “That’s a tough transition, to leave basketball and come fight in the UFC, but I love that that’s how he feels, and we’ll see when he retires. You’d have to fight some amateur fights, and once you get a couple fights under your belt—or one—you might change your mind.”

While White doesn’t have high hopes that Porzingis will find his way to the UFC in his mid-30s, he didn’t fully close the door on collaborating with him somehow in the future:

“I’m not going to say I wouldn’t do anything with the guy or anything like that. I consider him a friend.”

To get to the UFC, Porzingis would have to somehow cram decades of MMA training into just a few years. As unlikely as that seems, he does have the size and athleticism to possibly pull it off.

Standing 7-foot-2 and weighing in at 240 pounds, Porzingis is known for his guard-like skills on the court. Were he to step into the octagon for the UFC, he’d be the tallest fighter in the promotion’s history by two inches. Dutch heavyweight Stefan Struve, who retired in 2021, is the tallest fighter in UFC history, measuring exactly seven feet tall.

Porzingis’ size and athleticism could prove to be challenging for MMA heavyweights. Whether or not he can bridge the technical skills gap remains to be seen.

Kristaps Porzingis was bleeding from his head after an elbow from Goga Bitadze.

Bitadze was called for a flagrant 1 foul. pic.twitter.com/64nmKwESQZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 24, 2025

The 2024 NBA champion is an NBA free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season. He'd be wise to plan on retiring then and train like crazy if he wants to make his fight dreams come true.

Aaron Case

Aaron Case is a die hard Yankees fan from upstate New York who fuels his writing with too much coffee. When he's not riding the emotional roller coaster that is the MLB season, he's probably daydreaming and doodling or making beats. Follow him on X @AarontheCase1

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