This is Dana White we’re dealing with so we should all remember to take this with a healthy serving of salt.
White is the same man who assured us all that the UFC was not being sold prior to its $4 billion sale and the person who promised that Brock Lesnar wasn’t going to compete at UFC 200.
So let’s just keep that in mind when digesting his claim that Floyd Mayweather might end up fighting in the UFC.
Both White and Mayweather claimed that discussions had taken place to have the 50-0 boxing legend make his Octagon debut, only for ‘Money’ to then insist: “I’m not going to do it though.”
It had been suggested that Mayweather could rematch Conor McGregor under mixed martial arts rules, after stopping ‘The Notorious’ in the 10th round when they met in the boxing ring in August, but that was always something close to an impossibility given the fact that Mayweather has never been known to take many risks in his boxing career.
The 40-year-old is surely too intelligent to sign up for a fight in which elbows, kicks, knees and grappling are all allowed… Right?
Well White is sticking to his story and is supposedly working hard to get the deal over the line as he’s revealed that he’s meeting with Mayweather’s representatives on Thursday.
Speaking to FOX, White said: “I said not to count anything out on him coming over to the UFC and that anything is possible and listen, I still don’t.
“Listen you guys know, I was here, I did not believe that Mayweather-McGregor would happen and it did. So anything is possible.”
The purpose of the meeting remains unknown but it could be that White is looking for advice as he aims to branch out into the boxing realm in 2018.
The UFC president admitted last month that he was hoping to be granted a licence to promote boxing events and there’s no better man to talk to about that subject than Mayweather.
“I actually have a meeting with those guys today,” White added. “I do – with his crew, yes.”
