Dana White Props Conor McGregor, Blasts Bob Arum
Dana White Props Conor McGregor, Blasts Bob Arum
UFC President Dana White weighs in on Conor McGregor's chances against Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26.
Dana White has played a crucial part in building the UFC's reign over mixed martial arts and put on some of the biggest cards in the history of the sport.
However, when UFC star Conor McGregor dons boxing gloves to face pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather on August 26 in Las Vegas, White knows the most anticipated fight to ever hit the combat sports realm will be new ground even for him.
The UFC frontman recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to give his take on the Irishman's chances against Mayweather.
"When two people start throwing punches, anything is possible," White said. "Floyd will be 41 this year; Conor is 28. If there's ever been a kink in [Mayweather's] armor, it's with southpaws. Conor is a southpaw, and he hits like a truck. If he hits Mayweather, he will hurt him. And if he hurts him, he will finish him.
"If Mayweather came into the UFC, he wouldn't last 30 seconds. Conor will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. I stopped doubting Conor a long time ago."
During the five-city press tour for the mega-bout, White was wearing a Zuffa Boxing shirt which became an immediate target for discussion. The company owned by White and the Fertitta brothers sold to WME-IMG last year to the tune of $4.2 billion, with White staying on as the face of the UFC on a multi-year contract.
That said, there is the potential for the doors to be blown open with McGregor stepping into the boxing ring and new territory for White and Co. to explore. While White wasn't keen to talk about Zuffa boxing, he did share insight on his opinion of longtime boxing super promoter Bob Arum from Top Rank.
"We've never done one boxing event, but I guarantee you it'll be better than Top Rank," White said. "Look how long it took to make (Manny) Pacquiao-Mayweather happen, right? It took forever. Then I sit down with (Mayweather adviser) Al Haymon, we have four meetings, we got our fight done. These guys aren't even in the same sport. This just goes to show you what an absolute asshole Bob Arum really is."
However, when UFC star Conor McGregor dons boxing gloves to face pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather on August 26 in Las Vegas, White knows the most anticipated fight to ever hit the combat sports realm will be new ground even for him.
The UFC frontman recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to give his take on the Irishman's chances against Mayweather.
"When two people start throwing punches, anything is possible," White said. "Floyd will be 41 this year; Conor is 28. If there's ever been a kink in [Mayweather's] armor, it's with southpaws. Conor is a southpaw, and he hits like a truck. If he hits Mayweather, he will hurt him. And if he hurts him, he will finish him.
"If Mayweather came into the UFC, he wouldn't last 30 seconds. Conor will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. I stopped doubting Conor a long time ago."
During the five-city press tour for the mega-bout, White was wearing a Zuffa Boxing shirt which became an immediate target for discussion. The company owned by White and the Fertitta brothers sold to WME-IMG last year to the tune of $4.2 billion, with White staying on as the face of the UFC on a multi-year contract.
That said, there is the potential for the doors to be blown open with McGregor stepping into the boxing ring and new territory for White and Co. to explore. While White wasn't keen to talk about Zuffa boxing, he did share insight on his opinion of longtime boxing super promoter Bob Arum from Top Rank.
"We've never done one boxing event, but I guarantee you it'll be better than Top Rank," White said. "Look how long it took to make (Manny) Pacquiao-Mayweather happen, right? It took forever. Then I sit down with (Mayweather adviser) Al Haymon, we have four meetings, we got our fight done. These guys aren't even in the same sport. This just goes to show you what an absolute asshole Bob Arum really is."