UFC News: Dana White puts the brakes on McGregor v Mayweather
Rumours of Conor McGregor fighting Floyd Mayweather escalated after the Irishman obtained his boxing license in California last month. A secret footage of McGregor sparring with former IBO Welterweight Champion Chris Van Heerden has further fuelled the speculation around the Superfight.
But the chances of a Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight have been continuously dwindling. Most experts have already come out on the record stating that such a fight would be impossible. Mayweather’s representatives have said that the former world champion will not come out of retirement for the fight.
Mayweather has himself told the press that he is tired of being asked about the fight and that it is not going to happen.
The knockout punch to this whole story, however, might have been dealt by none other than the President of the UFC, Dana White. In an interview with Yahoo Sports, he categorically stated “ It ain’t happening.”
McGregor being under contract with the UFC, shall need permission from White to get into contests with other organizations.
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO Mayweather Promotions said, “This is the bottom line, and that is that Conor McGregor is under contract with the UFC, period, point blank, and he can’t do anything on his own without the approval of Dana White and the brass at WME/IMG. They’re not going to let him do anything like this. The fact is, they didn’t invest $4.2 billion into that company to have the face of their brand [destroyed].”
McGregor on the other hand has been very vocal in calling for a faceoff with Mayweather. A smart businessman that he is, he has kept the public talking about him even when he said he’s taking a break from fighting till the birth of his first child.
“I don’t care about Floyd,” McGregor said. “I don’t give a f**k about Floyd. I don’t give a f**k about Mayweather. I don’t fear no man, under no rule set. I’m sitting there minding my own business, dominating true fighting, and Floyd calls me out, like I’d be afraid of him or something like that. But what it done was, it opened up my eyes a little bit. I was like, ‘Hold on, maybe I can pursue this,’” he said.