Tag: Dana White

Conor McGregor still wants a second fight with Floyd Mayweather

Conor McGregor is angling for a second fight with Floyd Mayweather and believes he could win this time.

Conor McGregor still dreams of a second boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

McGregor was stopped by Mayweather in the 10th round in a one-sided bout that generated 4.3 million pay per view buys and a fortune for both fighters in August 2017. The 31-year-old MMA star wants a second chance and believes he can win.

“I would like to rematch Floyd,” he said during an ESPN MMA video interview. “… I mean, he can pick someone else but it won’t be the same. I did phenomenal in [the first] bout. The only reason I lost that bout was I prepared for a backfooted … style of opponent. When the fight was like that, I picked him apart.

“Then he came forward and I started pressing. I wasn’t sinking into my shots like I am now with my boxing coaches that are drilling specific boxing things into me again. I know I’d beat Floyd if we rematch … WHEN we rematch.”

McGregor said he and Mayweather had an oral agreement to do an MMA-rules fight after their boxing match but he doesn’t expect that to happen.

“Obviously that’s not going to happen,” he said. “I might not push on that, but I would like to box him. I think that’d be a good rematch.”

McGregor was asked whether a rematch could take place this year?

“You never know,” he said. “They’re good people to do business with, the Showtime people and Floyd. You never know.”

Mayweather, who will be 43 next month, and UFC’s Dana White have suggested they have some sort of agreement for “Money” to return to the ring but haven’t been specific.

Another possibility for both Mayweather and McGregor is a fight with Manny Pacquiao, who lost a decision to Mayweather in another financial bonanza in 2015. A rematch also would do well. And fans almost certainly would buy into a Pacquiao-McGregor fight.

“There was an offer made [on a Pacquiao bout],” McGregor said. He was asked to elaborate on that but said, “not just yet.”

Dana White: Floyd Mayweather deal would be for him to fight

UFC’s Dana White made it clear that any deal he has with Floyd Mayweather would involve “Money” actually fighting.

When UFC president Dana White and Floyd Mayweather were spotted sitting next to each other at a Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Clippers game on Nov. 20, heads turned in the combat sports world.

Soon thereafter, White was asked about the conversation and subsequent social media posts that seemed to hint at an unknown something. In the media rounds for UFC on ESPN 7 in early December, White elected not to go in depth beyond saying the he talked business with Mayweather.

In a recent interview with ESPN, however, White delved a little deeper.

“We both started talking,” White said. “The easiest way to explain it to you is Floyd and I both feel that we add value to each other, and we’re going to figure something out.

“Some things have to play out, and then I’m going to start talking to (Mayweather’s promoter Al) Hayman maybe this summer and then I’ll have something for Floyd in the fall.”

What would this mean exactly? Mayweather and White collaborating as promoter-promoter? Fighter-promoter? Or something else? Apparently, the undefeated boxer is thinking about another fight.

“Compete,” White said. “The money is in Floyd competing.”

White isn’t fond of crossover fights. But when Mayweather-esque demand is there, White said he’s willing to overlook any hesitation.

“We’ll see,” White said. “We can do some crossover stuff here, or we can do something in boxing. Our last experience, Floyd was actually pretty easy to deal with. Haymon is incredible to deal with. Floyd and I got a handshake deal at the basketball game, and we’ll get the rest figured out.”

He continued, “I don’t love them (crossover fights). … (But) when the demand is there. I felt the demand for McGregor vs. Mayweather, felt it, I knew it would be big, so we started talking. Then once I started to really feel it, that’s when I started to take it serious, and I made an offer. … It will be interesting to see if we start to see that kind of demand again with any kind of crossover fight.”

 

Dana White on potential clash between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal: ‘It’s massive’

Dana White is excited about a potential fight between champ Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.

Dana White thinks a battle between the UFC welterweight champion and the “BMF” of the division could be a major event.

After watching [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defend his UFC welterweight title against Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 245, UFC president White believes a bout between Usman and Jorge Masvidal is one worth making.

“It’s massive,” White said at the UFC 245 post-fight press conference. “So think about this, how many times have we sat in this room, we did the leadup to this big grudge match, these two guys hate each other going into the fight, and then I’m sitting here going, ‘And that fight sucked.’ How many grudge matches have actually been incredible fights, I say none. Maybe one I’m forgetting about, but they all pretty much suck.

“This grudge match was awesome, two guys in their prime who are at the top of the game and the fight was the “Fight of the Night” in an incredible card, yeah the Masvidal fight vs. Usman (fight), it’s a big deal. He fought (Nate) Diaz for the BMF belt and now to fight for the actual title against the guy who’s tough as nails, it’s fun.”

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Masvidal recently picked up the biggest win of his career, stopping Diaz at UFC 244 in November to win the first and only “BMF” title in a major event. The Miami native is a top contender in the division, and is coming off three straight stoppage wins.

For Usman, the bout with Covington marked his first welterweight title defense. Usman won the UFC belt in March, outpointing then-champion Tyron Woodley. He remains undefeated in the promotion.

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Dana White interested in immediate Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski rematch after UFC 245

UFC president Dana White is interested in seeing Max Holloway get an immediate rematch with Alexander Volkanovski following UFC 245.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] might not have to fight his way back to a title shot.

The Hawaiian fighter, who lost his UFC featherweight belt to [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] on Saturday night at UFC 245, could be granted a chance to get the belt back in his next outing. At the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White said he would be “100 percent” interested in seeing Holloway (21-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) get an immediate rematch against new champ Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC).

“He looked good, and that market is massive for us, so maybe we do that rematch in Australia,” White said. “I don’t know – that’s just off the top of my head.”

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White didn’t have many words to share about Volkanovski’s five-round performance, but he’s certain the Australian made a big statement in the octagon.

“For Volkanovski to come in and beat Max Holloway, it’s a big deal – it’s a big deal to do that,” White said.

Volkanovski, 31, would welcome the idea of fighting Holloway a second time, especially if it’s in his home country.

“That would be great, to have a hometown crowd and defend the belt in front of them – that would be unreal,” Volkanovski said. “And I think the Aussie fans deserve that, so I would love to make that happen.”

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Now Jorge Masvidal calls out Floyd Mayweather

Jorge Masvidal would love to get in the ring with the retired Floyd Mayweather Jr., who recently declared he would fight again in 2020.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to live free in the heads of MMA fighters.

The retired boxer recently declared on social media that he would return to the ring in 2020 in some kind of collaboration with UFC boss Dana White. That has no doubt perked up the ears of some of the UFC’s biggest stars, including Jorge Masvidal, who obviously smells a boatload of moolah.

“Me versus Mayweather. I want cash money,” Masvidal told TMZ Sports. “I got children, and those children got needs.”

Masvidal, who won a technical decision over Nate Diaz in November, recently called out Canelo Alvarez in an attempt to lure the Mexican superstar into a crossover bout. But with Mayweather seemingly an active fighter again and Alvarez expressing little interest, Masvidal has his eyes set on the undefeated boxer.

“I love to fight and one of my first loves growing up was boxing, and then I fell in love with wrestling and then UFC came about,” Masvidal said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I can do them both of them at the same damn time.’ I fell in love with the UFC, and that’s all I’ve done, the MMA. But I can box my ass off.”

White recently said that that should a collaboration with Mayweather become reality, the fight will most likely take place in the fall.  Whatever form it may take, it is certain to be a financial bonanza. Masvidal’s colleague Conor McGregor had a reported guarantee of $30 million and might’ve taken home as much as $85 million in his boxing match with Mayweather in 2017. Even sniffing a fraction of that would presumably make Masvidal a happy camper.

“Not saying I’m a better boxer than Mayweather but man,” Masvidal said,  “I’m gonna be in there with bad intentions, trying to hurt him. I’m a well-conditioned athlete who’s not going to fade. I’m not going to fade in the eighth of ninth round (as McGregor did). I’m going to be there for the whole night.

“I want to get into the biggest, toughest, roughest fights that I possibly can and make a paycheck for them as well, get compensated for my skills.”

 

Dana White says Floyd Mayweather fight could happen next fall

Dana White appeared on the Jim Rome Show to discuss his potential collaboration with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

So maybe it wasn’t just an attempt to garner attention on social media.

UFC boss Dana White appeared on The Jim Rome Show on Thursday and discussed his meeting with Floyd Mayweather in November at a Los Angeles Clippers game at Staples Center. White said that a deal to work with Mayweather was consummated on the spot and that he will most likely sit down with Mayweather’s manager, Al Haymon, next spring to finalize details.

“We started talking and we literally got a deal done right there on the court,” White said. “And if things play out the way things Floyd and I think they will, I will probably sit down with Al Haymon in March and get a deal on paper.”

White said the target date for a Mayweather fight is next fall.

“If everything goes our way, Floyd and I would be doing something in October or November.”

It’s not clear what type of fight Mayweather is envisioning, but the fact that he is working with White might mean the event will be some kind of crossover between boxing and mixed-martial arts.

After the Clippers game, Mayweather posted on his social media that he would be “working together” with White “to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020.” A few days later, Mayweather published another post depicting himself in fight gear, doubling down on a supposed ring return next year.

Mayweather, who will be 43 on Feb. 24, retired in 2017 after he stopped the UFC’s Conor McGregor in a lucrative crossover bout. Since then, he participated in an exhibition match against in Tokyo against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, knocking him out in the first round.

 

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Coming out of retirement in 2020

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Gina Carano says UFC offered $1 million to fight Ronda Rousey, explains why negotiations failed

Gina Carano says UFC offered her $1 million to fight Ronda Rousey, and explained how an accidental insulting text from Dana White derailed things.

The idea of a superfight between [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag] and [autotag]Gina Carano[/autotag] was at some point a plan, at least according to Carano.

The first breakthrough star of women’s MMA and Hollywood star revealed to ESPN on Monday that the UFC had offered her $1 million to fight then-undefeated UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The fight between the two easily could’ve been one of the biggest fights in MMA history with Rousey (12-2, 6-2 UFC) and Carano (7-1) being household names in the sport each in their respective eras.

“When Ronda Rousey became popular,  I remember they (Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta – former UFC owners) had finally called for a meeting and I walked in this restaurant and they looked like these two big muscly guys at the table in like the middle of Hollywood,” Carano said. “I remember thinking, ‘What took you guys so long, I’ve been, what took you so long.’ So they were like, ‘Okay we’d love to offer you a million dollars, we’d love to have that fight,’ and I was like, ‘Well, that sounds great but I’m going to need you to do me a favor, then, because I’ve been acting, I’m not active in any gym so it’s going to take me, you know, you re going to have to give me some time to build a team or join a team.’”

“And it’s not an easy thing, as I’m sure all the fighters know,” Carano continued. “You have to find a team or build one that’s going to be into what you’re doing and if you haven’t actively been a part of anything, you can walk in as Gina Carano or whoever but you’re still going to have to find the people who are really going to be there for you and that takes time. So I told them, ‘You got to be able to just sit on this for about six months, Dana. You can’t say anything and let me get situated with that and when because that sounds great and I’d love to do it.’ So it was a nice dinner and we all left positive, I left stoked, and I was like, ‘OK, well this makes sense, this is my moment to come and be back in there.”

Despite thinking the stars had aligned for a potential long-awaited return to the  cage, things took an unexpected turn when UFC president Dana White discussed the comeback plans with the media.

“Then like the next day, Dana was out there talking about me, talking about my name, and telling people that he was going to sign me – and I don’t even have a team yet,” Carano explained. “I was like, ‘that’s not what we discussed; you were supposed to give me at least six months to kind of find a team.’ Then he started trying to put on the pressure through the media, and it was a bummer because I told him over text message that’s not what we talked about, I need time, now I’m going to walk into a gym and people are going to know that’s what I’m doing. I need to build trust if I’m going to find people.

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“So then he kept on doing that and I was still kind of searching for a team and feeling all that pressure and then he sent me a text message saying, ‘this (expletive) is something like (expletive) us around,’ something like that. And I sent a text message back and I sent, ‘I think you sent this out to the wrong person,’ and he said, ‘I don’t think I did’.

“That was the last conversation that we had over text message. Because I don’t think that was the kind of environment that I wanted to come back into, I cut all communication after that text. Then I remember seeing him when Mike Tyson and my dad were getting honored at a sports hall of fame in Las Vegas, and he did come over and genuinely apologized.

“But yeah, I just don’t think even a $1 million, you shouldn’t, when people hold money over your head, which they have done since I was a little girl, its just never been a turn-on for me. I don’t have a problem with authority; I just have a problem with abused authority and that’s my thing, so that was the end of that conversation.”

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The actor whose roles have included “Haywire,” “Fast and Furious 6,” and most recently Star Wars’ “Mandalorian” also revealed she could’ve gone elsewhere, citing both that she was a free agent and her good relationship with former Strikeforce and current Bellator president Scott Coker.

However, Carano’s passion for acting was much stronger than her passion for fighting.

“I had a fight and I had a movie (Deadpool), and I chose the movie,” Carano said. “That seems to be the way how things have gone.”

“I think about it (return to fighting) every single time I hit the heavy bag, I think about it,” Carano said. “But if you were to ask me if I had the decision today, I would chose a movie because that’s where my heart is and that’s where I want to be and I hope that maybe someday. I mean, if I really wanted to fight, I can pick up a fight in England or Thailand in muay Thai and get it out of my system. But for right now, I’m working on a script, I’m working on this other giant that’s become my fight now.”

Carano last fought in Aug. 2009, where she lost to Cris Cyborg for the inaugural Strikeforce women’s featherweight title in what was the first major MMA event headlined by a women’s bout. The TKO loss remains Carano’s only professional defeat.

 

Floyd Mayweather reportedly looking to fight twice in 2020

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is looking to fight twice in 2020, according to TMZ Sports. One versus a pro boxer and the other an MMA fighter.

Say it isn’t so.

In a span of 72 hours, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has gone from telling the world that he’s permanently retired to putting up an Instagram post teasing at a possible ring return in 2020.

And now, according to TMZ, Mayweather is currently mulling two fights for 2020, “one against a pro boxer and another against a UFC star.”

Mayweather made a fortune for facing UFC’s Conor McGregor under boxing rules, which obviously is an incentive to pursue another crossover fight with an MMA fighter.

On Thursday, Mayweather was spotted courtside at Staples Center next to Dana White at a L.A. Clippers-Boston Celtics game. Shortly thereafter, Mayweather posted a picture of the two sitting next to each other on Instagram, with the caption, “@danawhite and I working together to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020.

According to TMZ, Mayweather prefers to face a UFC fighter who has standout striking skills, which may rule out a fight with current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose strength is grappling.

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Coming out of retirement in 2020

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As for facing a boxer, one natural option is Manny Pacquiao, who has been actively campaigning for a rematch against Mayweather since their 2015 box office extravaganza. Pacquiao is coming off a vintage win over Keith Thurman in July. Recently, Pacquiao appeared in an Instagram skit with Chinese billionaire Jack Ma in an attempt to lure Mayweather into a fight

Lance Pugmire of The Athletic informed Pacquiao of Mayweather’s comments. Pacquiao’s response: “Hahahaha really? I don’t know of his plan. But I’m just here still active and willing to fight anybody in the welterweight division.”

TMZ’s source claims that Mayweather is looking to fight in May and September,

Floyd Mayweather says he’s coming back. Boxing fans, you don’t have to do this again.

Mayweather, 42, says he is coming out of retirement in 2020. Boxing fans: You can ignore him. There are other things to watch.

Floyd Mayweather posted to his Instagram this week that he was coming out of retirement in 2020.

There’s nothing in there about who he will be fighting or when, though Michael Rosenthal over at Boxing Junkie floated the idea that perhaps he and Dana White could organize another exhibition against a UFC fighter a la his fight with Conor McGregor.

Maybe they’ll dust off Manny Pacquiao and let the two of them go at it for nostalgia purposes.

Whatever it is: Boxing fans, you don’t have to do this anymore.

You don’t have to talk yourself into watching this. You don’t have to convince yourself that watching a 42-year-old Mayweather dodge punches and do enough to win on the scorecard is entertaining, especially if he’s going up against a UFC fighter with an iota of the technical skill he has.

Mayweather was one of the best to ever do it, and in his prime, watching him was thrilling. He was so technically gifted, and so quick, that watching great fighters try to hit him was to see them rendered useless. It was an acquired taste, but once you saw his brilliance, it became hard not to want to see him work.

Now? I mean, what are we watching? The McGregor fight had a certain sideshow appeal, and it was funny watching Mayweather try to figure out what to do with McGregor’s undeveloped style, but come on. At a certain point, watching an aging man dodge punches isn’t all that thrilling anymore. It becomes rote.

Not to mention he’s a reprehensible person, an annoyance, and is starting to get to the point where boxing is struggling to move on from him. Every time he comes around it’s another media circus that sucks oxygen out of the room that other young boxers might consume.

I realize the central irony in the fact that I’m writing about him right now, and making an argument by giving coverage to someone I’m saying shouldn’t get coverage. But let this be the end of it. Let us move on from this.

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