Ariel Helwani calls out Dana White for claiming he paid Floyd Mayweather for Conor McGregor fight
Ariel Helwani has called out Dana White for saying he paid Floyd Mayweather for the boxing match against Conor McGregor.
Earlier this month, Tyson Fury and Jon Jones had an online argument about who would win in a street fight. White recently did an interview with BroBible and offered Fury the opportunity to sign with the UFC and fight Jones.
While discussing the possible deal with Fury, White mentioned that he has experience dealing with boxers after Mayweather fought McGregor in 2017. During the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani called out the UFC president by saying:
“You didn’t pay Floyd anything. Like I said on Monday, all you did was say, ‘Alright, Conor, we’ll cut a deal with you so you can go out and do this fight on Showtime with Mayweather promotions and all this stuff.’ You didn’t cut Floyd no checks. You didn’t make the deal with Floyd. You were on the other side of the equation.”
Ariel Helwani continued by saying:
“This is hypocrisy, this is wishy-washyness, this is lies, this is revisionist history. They didn’t make no deal with Floyd. What are you talking about?... If you think they were cutting Floyd a check on August of 2017, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.”
Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor sold over four million pay-per-views and reportedly generated at least $600 million. Although the UFC president helped promote the event, Mayweather’s cut most likely didn’t come from Dana White.
Watch Ariel Helwani react to Dana White's comments below:
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Ariel Helwani asked about Dana White's comments on entertaining a fight between Tyson Fury and Jon Jones.
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Ariel Helwani goes after Dana White for calling Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou a gimmick fight
Since parting ways with the UFC, Francis Ngannou has prioritized his aspirations to land a massive payday in professional boxing. Anthony Joshua turned down the potential matchup last week, referring to the bout as a ‘gimmick.’ Dana White referenced Joshua’s comments during a recent press conference, which frustrated Ariel Helwani.
During the same episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani had this to say about White calling Joshua vs. Ngannou a gimmick fight but supporting Tyson Fury vs. Jon Jones:
“The best part about that is he’s [Dana White] dismissing a fight like [Anthony] Joshua vs. Francis [Ngannou]... What’s the difference between Tyson and Jones [and] Joshua and Fury? Nothing. I guess the big difference is that you don’t have the rights to promote a Francis fight anymore. That’s it.”
It’s unclear what’s next for Ngannou. The former UFC heavyweight champion will compete in professional boxing before making his MMA return, but his options for a high-profile opponent are limited. Only time will tell if ‘The Predator’ can silence the doubters once again.