UFC boss reveals if he will give blessing to McGregor-Mayweather rematch
UFC chief Dana White has nipped talk of a boxing rematch between star attraction Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather in the bud, claiming that a long-awaited comeback from 'The Notorious' will take place in the Octagon for his elite MMA promotion.
Mayweather and McGregor memorably faced off in a 2017 box office smash in Las Vegas that was Hall of Fame alumnus Mayweather's last professional boxing match.
A TKO in the 10th round saw Mayweather improve to 50-0 and subsequently retire. Since then, he has taken part in exhibition bouts with his latest one coming in Abu Dhabi against Don Moore in May.
A fortnight ago, the Grand Rapids native had his next outing announced against MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura in September.
As for McGregor, he went on to fail in his quest to recapture the lightweight title in the UFC with a series of sobering losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.
Currently on the comeback trail after breaking his leg in a third meeting with Poirier almost a year ago at UFC 264, McGregor has been rumored to face Mayweather in the squared circle again ,which White has been quick to pour cold water on.
McGregor deleted an Instagram post recently that saw him say: "I accept" in reference to a rematch, and there have also been reports that the two camps, which would include McGregor's boss White on one side, are in talks to make it happen.
"Not me. I’m not talking about that," White confirmed when appearing on The Jim Rome Show on Monday.
"It’ll be in the cage," White added more specifically regarding where McGregor's next bout will take place. "Conor is looking to come back the end of this year, early next year."
With McGregor living the high life aboard his Lamborghini yacht and traveling the world, some figures such as former opponent and ex-UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway have questioned his hunger to return to the sport in recent days.
According to White, though, McGregor's desire to put on gloves and face off in the octagon is as strong as ever.
"When I do talk to Conor, Conor wants to fight," White claimed.
"Conor gets all kinds of offers for movie roles and all these other things that he can go and do and make money. He doesn’t want to do any of that. Conor wants to fight."
As per one of the leading MMA banner's other big names in former light-heavyweight king Jon Jones, who is plotting a foray into a second division at heavyweight, White said that 'Bones' is "ready to go".
"We’re just waiting for an opponent. It’s either going to be [current heavyweight champion] Francis [Ngannou] depending on how long his knee is going to take to recover or Stipe Miocic," White confirmed.
"It’s very interesting because I’m a huge believer in ring rust," White remarked, with Jones not having fought since a controversial February 2020 win over Dominick Reyes.
"But for all the negative things you could say about Jon Jones and his personal life and things that have happened, he’s the best. He’s definitely the best of all time," White stated.
