Dana White Offers McGregor & Mayweather Huge Money For Rumored Fight
The long discussed boxing mega fight between retired former pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather and reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has seemed to be nothing more than a dream fight between two of combat sports’ biggest stars.
Few have expected the fight to actually take place, but the idea has remained in the limelight nonetheless. In fact, Mayweather recently said that his team attempted to make the fight happen, and that he was willing to pay McGregor $15 million in addition to a cut from the pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, which would be massive.
Still, the fight appeared to be unlikely. According to well-respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, however, the potential bout has moved into an ‘exploratory’ phase. While admits that many hurdles must be conquered, he said that the idea is ‘no longer just a PR stunt’:
Mayweather-McGregor has gone from pipe dream phase to exploratory phase. MANY, MANY hurdles to overcome, but not just a PR stunt anymore.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 13, 2017
Again, an unprecedented amount of hurdles. But, everyone involved stands to make a lot of money, hence the exploring. Worth monitoring now. https://t.co/bYXlpZmxhb
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 13, 2017
To add fuel to the growing fire, UFC President Dana White appeared on a Friday (Jan. 13, 2016) edition of The Herd shortly after Helwani’s tweets were release to offer McGregor and Mayweather $25 million each to make the fight happen:
“We’ll pay (Mayweather) $25 million,” said White. “We’ll pay Conor $25 million. And then we’ll talk PPV after. There’s a real offer.”
Mayweather hasn’t competed since scoring a decision victory over Andre Berto in Sep. 2015. McGregor, on the other hand, is coming off of a brutal second round knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez last November in a bout in which he won the UFC lightweight strap.
Stay tuned to LowKickMMA as more details regarding a possible Mayweather vs. McGregor showdown unfold.
