A boxing match between [autotag]Oscar De La Hoya[/autotag] and [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] likely would’ve happened if not for UFC president Dana White.
That is according to Triller boss Ryan Kavanaugh, who earlier this week put White on blast in an Instagram post for blocking St-Pierre from fighting De La Hoya under the Triller banner.
“(Dana White and the UFC) just blocked Georges St-Pierre from fighting Oscar De La Hoya,” Kavanaugh wrote. “It is a big payday for GSP and both he and Oscar’s dream to fight each other. Dana would rather hold back those who put the UFC where it is and why?”
Following an initial report from Bloody Elbow, MMA Junkie confirmed with a person close to the situation that St-Pierre was De La Hoya’s main target for his comeback fight, and the two sides had been in negotiations. But the UFC wouldn’t grant St-Pierre permission, a requirement for him to participate since he remains under contract with the UFC despite not fighting for the promotion since November 2017. At the time of his retirement announcement in February 2019, St-Pierre’s UFC contract was frozen, which is why he needs permission to compete for outside promotions.
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#danawhite and#ufc just blocked @georgesstpierre from fighting @oscardelahoya . It is a big payday for GSP and both he and Oscar’s dream to fight each other. Dana would rather hold back those who put the UFC where it is and why? @snoopdogg @jakepaul @mariolopez @teofimolopez @keviniole I’ve tried to call and Text Dana at least 5 times to make it work for both parties not even the courtesy of a return call. And he’s trying to get #jakepaul to fight for the ufc now? Making him offers? Just hurting his own people and chasing ours. @manoukakopyan
This was not an issue for Ben Askren, who came out of retirement to box Jake Paul – and lost by first-round TKO – in a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view headliner. Prior to that fight, White gave Askren his blessing when he also could’ve vetoed him since Askren retired in late 2019 while still under contract with the UFC.
One key difference this time could be De La Hoya’s involvement, as White and the 48-year-old former boxing champion have a history of trash-talking each other. White held nothing back when De La Hoya promoted a trilogy bout between UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in November 2018.
St-Pierre, who turns 40 on May 19, publicly hasn’t expressed a desire to fight since retirement, which came about after failing to land a superfight with Khabib Nurmagomedov prior to his own retirement. GSP was seen training with legendary boxing coach Freddy Roach in Los Angeles as recently as last month. St-Pierre has kept busy with his acting career, recently playing a role in the Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”
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