Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather produced one of the greatest boxing nights in 2017. Both McGregor and Mayweather were 2 of the biggest names if not the biggest in their respective sport. However, it was made possible because UFC president Dana White changed his stance on UFC fighters not getting to fight outside of the promotion whilst under contract. 5 years after the $600 million McGregor Vs Mayweather fight, the UFC head honcho revealed why he changed his mind about ‘corrupt’ boxing.
Dana White took over UFC after working in boxing. He used to work as a boxing coach, thus knowing about the boxing scene. When he took over a struggling UFC, it was quite difficult to even find venues for the event. From that point, White has made UFC one of the biggest fighting promotions and the most successful one.
However, he has always been quite stern on his stance of never venturing into boxing. Thus, it was surprising when he claimed that he would try his hands at boxing after the 600 million fight. But he never did and he revealed the reason why,
Dana White explained his change in stance on boxing after Conor McGregor Vs Floyd Mayweather
White sat down for an interview with GQ Sports back in 2022. During the interview White replied to fan questions and one of them was why he changed his tunes on entering boxing. White did not hold back while answering the questions.
White said, “This is true, and every time I start to go down the road to get involved in boxing, I go, have I lost my fu*king mind? Am I crazy? Why would I ever want to get involved in in this corrupt, insane, fu*ked up sport? And then, you know, I jump out for a while and then I start to think about it again. Literally just started thinking about it a month ago, got on the phone with a couple of boxing guys, hung up the phone and said, have I lost my fu*king mind again? Why would I want to be in business with any of these guys?“
The UFC president calls boxing a corrupt and insane sport. Whilst there have been multiple instances where this has been proved, certainly White is tempted by the money. Why else would keep on thinking about entering a business which is so corrupt and insane? Recently he also downplayed any suggestions of a boxing fight including his other famed UFC fighter.
White was against Jon Jones and Tyson Fury boxing fight
White revealed that Tyson Fury was serious about boxing Jon Jones. However, he decided not to enter negotiations for a boxing fight. Fury who is now scheduled to fight Francis Ngannou, wanted to fight Jones earlier. White claimed that they have figured out a way to pay Mayweather, thus they could pay Fury as well.
White said, “We all know if Jon Jones boxed Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury wins. All these boxing guys want to talk about this and keep it in the ring. I’m telling Tyson Fury, who I respect very much: If you really want to find out who the baddest man on the planet is, I will make that fight. I will make Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the octagon. And we’ll figure it out. We figured out how to pay Floyd (Mayweather), we’ll figure out how to pay you too, Tyson.“
According to the report by USA Today, White is only willing to negotiate a fight between Jon Jones and Tyson Fury if Fury agreed to a MMA fight. However, despite the offer, Fury decided against it and tried to make his own version of Mayweather Vs McGregor by signing up for a boxing fight against Ngannou.
