Dana White on will we see McGregor-Mayweather fight, "In 2017, I think you will."
In an interview with Yahoo Sports' Chris Mannix, UFC President Dana White was asked for an update on the proposed Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight.
“Well, Conor McGregor is having a baby right now,” White told Mannix. “After his girlfriend delivers their baby, we’ll start working on this deal.”
Conor McGregor and his girlfriend are expecting a baby boy in May. Preparing to be a father is a lot of work but that doesn't mean McGregor isn't getting ready for his potential fight. McGregor's head coach recently told Fox Sports News that McGregor is already training as if the fight is going to take place.
Obviously one of the biggest snags in this fight agreement is how much Conor McGregor will make. McGregor has said he wants to be paid a guaranteed $100 million, and Mayweather has said he will pay him $15 million and they could talk about splitting the back-end percentage of PPV sales. Mayweather added, "How can a guy talk about making $20 or $30 million if he has never made $8 or $9 million in a fight."
Everyone in the boxing and MMA world have said that this fight will be a cake walk for Mayweather. Even though McGregor is an MMA fighter, the fight will take place as a boxing match. McGregor has never had an amateur or a professional boxing match in his career. But Dana White seems to have a different feeling about McGregor's chances.
“The thing that makes this fight very intriguing to me is Floyd Mayweather is 40 years old” White confidently said. “Yes, he’s one of the best of all-time. But, he’s 40. Conor’s 27 [actually 28] and Conor’s a much bigger guy than Floyd Mayweather. Conor McGregor is a southpaw and Floyd Mayweather has had trouble with southpaws. Conor McGregor has knockout power in both hands. Floyd Mayweather does not. If you sit down and talk to Conor McGregor, he’ll make you believe he’s going to win the fight. I’m fascinated to see how this thing plays out.”
When Mannix asked if we would see the fight take place this year, Dana white replied, "“In 2017, I think you will."