Dana White dismisses notion that MMA fighters make more money in boxing: "Even Saudi trillionaires get tired of the f***ing bullshit"
Dana White has criticized the idea that boxing is a more lucrative sport for professional MMA fighters than their own sport. This came after former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou's temporary switch from MMA to boxing contests against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, which reportedly earned him a substantial amount of money.
For context, following his departure from UFC last year, Ngannou achieved several noteworthy goals, such as signing a big deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and achieving his dream of boxing while earning a sizable amount of money.
The former UFC heavyweight champion challenged Fury last year and Joshua earlier this year to establish his presence in the boxing world. Despite losing both fights, Ngannou reportedly earned $30 million, according to Marca.
White, who has always been criticized for the promotion's fighter compensation policy, recently had a conversation with Kevin Iole on his YouTube channel. The UFC CEO was questioned by Iole about how MMA fighters make more money when they switch to boxing, taking the example of Ngannou.
In response, White refuted the claims by saying:
''That's not necessarily true. That's the bullsh*t publicly the people believe but that's not the truth...that's that whole myth that makes everybody go,' oh, let's go to boxing'...boxing don't work...even Saudi trillionaires get tired of the fu**ing bullsh*t.''
White went on to say that the wealthy Saudi Arabians are the only reason these high-profile boxing matches take place.
''All these fights are happening it takes a Saudi fu**ing trillionaire... It is the most f***ed up business, and all these sound bites are all so full of sh*t that it makes everybody f***ing believe that that sh*t is true, when it's not...''
Check out Dana White's comments below (14:38):
White confirmed his foray into boxing last month, after years of rumours. The 55-year-old asserted that he intends to conduct boxing promotions differently from traditional boxing promoters.
Dana White talks about Alex Pereira's potential transition to boxing
Alex Pereira recently expressed his support for Dana White's entry into the boxing scenario. Pereira suggested that White might collaborate with him to launch his possible boxing promotion.
In the aforementioned interview with Kevin Iole, White was asked about Pereira's move to boxing. He gave a reluctant response, saying:
''I don't know, I mean, when you look at where he is right now in his career, he's at the top of the game, he's about to break this record...I don't know. I'm not even thinking about that kind of stuff. I'm not thinking about crossover fight. I hate crossover fights...I respect the fact that he wants to do it...but I want everybody to stay in their own lane.'' [13:18]