UFC President Dana White has denied reports he’s not at the helm of negotiations for the proposed boxing match between undefeated boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather and UFC champion Conor McGregor.
Although White has spent more time than either Mayweather or McGregor discussing the fight in interviews, latimes.com reported on Thursday the UFC boss isn’t as engaged in negotiations as perceived, citing an unnamed official, and instead WME-IMG executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell are working on the deal.
White promptly denied the report when approached by TMZ.com on Thursday night.
“We live in a world right now where you can’t believe anything you read,” White said. “When the L.A. Times is putting out – who else would be running the Mayweather-McGregor deal other than me? Who?”
Despite the fact WME-IMG owns the UFC after purchasing it for more than $4 billion this past summer, White has still been the face of promotional efforts. Not only does he push UFC events, but White has given most Mayweather-McGregor updates, including initially writing off the proposed bout and recently announcing he’s come to terms with “The Notorious” on an agreement to allow the crossover fight.
“What does WME know about making big fights? It’s pretty bad,” said White, also referring to a reviewjournal.com report about his recent real-estate purchases. “I’ve had a couple of bad days back to back with ‘legitimate’ news stories – the ‘Las Vegas Review-Journal’ and now ‘The L.A. Times.’ Trust me, I’m running the Mayweather-McGregor deal. I’m the only one in on it.”
“When I do (have a new update on the fight), you’ll know,” White continued.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
Source: Mike Bohn| USA Today
