UFC president Dana White on McGregor vs Pacquiao rumours : "I don't care about that"
Probably the biggest star in the history of MMA, "The Notorious" Conor McGregor (22-4 in MMA) announced his retirement from the sport once again back in June because of the lack of interesting options available for him in the UFC. Whether the irish man steps foot into the octagon again remains to be seen; but he has not hidden his interests in entering the boxing ring again.
Conor (0-1 in boxing) has competed once in boxing against the supposed GOAT Floyd Mayweather , a fight he lost by 10th round stoppage. But the bout was the most lucrative and moneymaking event in the history of combat sports.
Recently the 32-year-old wrote on Twitter ‘Tinatanggap ko’ – which means ‘I accept’ in Filipino. And fans deduced a bout against WBA welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to be a possibility.
After his UFC 246 win over "Cowboy"Cerrone, McGregor expressed his desire to win a boxing world title in his career when talking to Ariel Helwani. And also recently his management company, Paradigm Sports, has signed Pacquiao. And McGregor himself said he would like to take on the Filipino legend in a bout at Las Vegas New Raiders stadium.
So the media approached UFC's frontman Dana White about the possibility of his former star taking on the "pacman". To which Dana White's response was short and not so subtle.
“I don’t care about any of that s***.” is all Dana White had to say about those possibilities.
Dana White was present at the Irish superstar's corner for his 2017 money fight against Floyd Mayweather. However, this time around, judging by Dana White's comments, it is unlikely that the UFC president will be seen promoting a potential boxing match between McGregor and Pacquiao. Dana White had recently stated that he isn't concerned with retired fighters and the ones that are active will be prioritized over the currently retired crop of fighters. However, it will also be safe to assume that Dana White will welcome the Irishman with open arms should the latter decide to make a return to the Octagon again.
Being retired from MMA, the irish superstar is free to fight the eight time boxing world champion Pacquiao inside the ring. But there are complications. Pacquiao fights at welterweight (147 lbs in boxing). And Conor's 145 lbs fighting days are way behind him. In fact 3 of his last 5 bouts have been at 170 lbs. A super welterweight boxing bout (154 lbs) might be a possibility. But still a lot has to fall to pieces for that bout to ever materialize.
Boxing ring or the octagon, all that matters is that the fans want to see the controversial star back in action sooner rather than later. He has been a phenomenal fighter throughout his career and everybody wants to see a lot more of him. And at 32 he is supposed to be in the peak of his fighting days. Fans across the world are no doubt itching for his comeback.
What do you guys think of Dana White's response to the rumors of a McGregor vs Pacquiao matchup? Let us know in the comments section below.