It looks like Dana White and Floyd Mayweather are going do business once again.
Speculation began when White and Mayweather were spotted at an NBA game between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers in downtown LA on Nov. 20. The buzz furthered when White, Mayweather, and the UFC alluded to the potential for doing business over social media that evening.
A guest on Thursday’s edition of “The Rich Eisen Show,” White talked about hanging out with Mayweather at the basketball game.
Running into Mayweather was not planned, White explained. He claims he bought tickets to the game not knowing Mayweather was going to be there, and that the meeting was totally coincidental.
“What’s even crazier is (UFC owner Endeavor CEO) Ari Emanuel called me that day and said, ‘Do you want my tickets,’ or whatever,” White said. “I didn’t know he was talking about the Clippers. So I started looking at the schedule and the next game was January in Boston against the Lakers.
“I thought he was talking about the Lakers. Then it turns out it was the Clippers and I said, ‘You know what? I will go to the Clippers-Celtics game. I fly out there. I bought my seats and my seats are right next to Floyd’s. Floyd walks in and, yeah.”
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According to White, the coincidental meetup wasn’t just a casual mingle. The two combat sports icons were discussing business, of course. After a couple of hours, White and Mayweather shook hands and agreed on a deal, as he explained on another recent media appearance.
“It’s true,” White said Thursday on “The Jim Rome Show.” “We sat at the Clippers game. We started talking and we literally got a deal done right there on the court. We shook hands. We have a deal. And if things play out the way Floyd and I think they will, I’ll probably sit down with Al Haymon in March and get a deal on paper.”
As for what exactly the “deal” with Mayweather entailed, White would not expand. The UFC president avoided going into specifics, but did present a timeline for their business ventures to come to fruition.
“Let’s see how the next few months play out,” White said. “We could be doing something fun probably. I think if everything goes our way, Floyd and I would be doing something in October or November.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the duo have come together. The UFC served as a co-promoter for the blockbuster boxing match between Mayweather and Conor McGregor in Aug. 2017, which Mayweather won via 10th-round TKO.
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