With all the ridiculous tomfoolery that surrounded UFC 210 over the weekend, we’re kind of shocked that UFC president Dana White had the time and patience to discuss the as-of-now still in negotiations superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. But at the post event press conference, White broke down exactly where things were with talks.
“I’ve been talking to [the Mayweather side] for a while now,” he said. “Mayweather’s team will have to deal with [their promotion partners at] Showtime. I’m dealing with my side, we’ll let them deal with their side.”
As for Conor McGregor?
“Conor is having a baby any day now and after Conor has his baby we’re gonna meet in New York,” he confirmed. “We’ve had preliminary talks with Conor, and we’re in a good place with Conor and we’re gonna meet in New York when we have his baby.”
But that doesn’t mean you should expect a contract to get signed the day after Conor McGregor Jr. pops out of his mother’s womb.
“No, it’s not close,” White admitted. “No. I think there’s a better chance of me happening than quarterbacking [during the Super Bowl]. I see this fight happening, but there’s just … Conor wants it and Floyd wants it. And I’ve said many times, Conor has stepped up in big fights for this company, for me and Lorenzo. I can’t deny him this fight.”
“The thing is, the longer it takes for us to come to an agreement, the longer it’s going to take for us to negotiate with the Mayweather team. Because, I know all the talk of A sides and B sides and all this stuff. Listen, everything that I say is going to come off as biased because he’s my guy, but you guys judge: is Conor McGregor not a massive star? And is this not, this fight here, Floyd doesn’t make this kind of money without Conor. So Conor is just as important as Floyd when it comes to this fight.”
“What I would like to clarify is all the buls**t about the 80 f**king 20 split,” he said, referring to rumors the UFC was looking to take 80% of McGregor’s purse. “Jeff Mayweather? Come on, Jeff. Me and Jeff go way back. Are you the spokesman for f**king Team Mayweather? And Bob Arum? You piece of s**t? F**k you too. What do they know about this fight? They know nothing.”
So there’s your McGregor versus Mayweather update for the week. The wheels are turning … slowly, but they’re turning. And all signs are still pointing to this fight happening sometime in the fall.
