During a recent interview with ESPN, the UFC president elaborated on his recent talks with Mayweather. White was clear that the intention is for “Money” to fight, not a business relationship. Whether that’s in the UFC or in boxing is currently unknown.
“The money is in Floyd competing,” White said.
White and Mayweather crossed paths at a Los Angeles Clippers basketball game in November, and the two men seemed quite cordial.
“We both started talking. 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,” White said. “Some things have to play out, and then I'm going to start talking to [Mayweather's promoter Al] Haymon maybe this summer and then I'll have something for Floyd in the fall.”
The UFC notably helped co-promote the boxing match between Mayweather and former two-division champion Conor McGregor in August 2017. Mayweather won the contest via technical knockout in the 10th round, but the fight itself reportedly did 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, making it the second-largest grossing pay-per-view event ever behind Mayweather’s showdown with Manny Pacquiao.
White said that working with Mayweather and his team was a positive experience overall, even if he admittedly is not a big fan of crossover fights.
“We can do some crossover stuff here or we can do something in boxing,” White said. “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.”
According to White, the UFC will delve into the crossover realm again if the demand is comparable to what it was for the Mayweather-McGregor bout.
“The biggest pay-per-view ever, in pay-per-view history,” White said. “It will be interesting to see if we start to see that kind of demand again with any kind of crossover fight.”