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Dana White offers new details on potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather showdown
UFC president Dana White is preparing to sit down with Floyd Mayweather's representatives as early as next week to hash out the details on a potential showdown with Conor McGregor later this year.
White sealed the deal with McGregor last weekend to close out the deal between the fighter and the promotion regarding the split of revenue for the rumored mega-fight.
Now it's onto negotiations with Mayweather to determine the final split to see if this fight will actually come together or not.
Of course the biggest roadblock to the entire situation is the split that will be shared between Mayweather and McGregor for the fight after both of them have argued to be the 'A' side — in other words the more lucrative draw — for this matchup.
In his historic fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015, Mayweather enjoyed a 60-percent split with his opponent getting 40-percent on the record breaking card that sold more than 4.4 million buys on pay-per-view, not to mention over $72 million made at the gate.
In White's estimation, McGregor will deserve a bigger piece of the pie right off the top considering he's a bigger star right now than Pacquiao was when he accepted the Mayweather fight two years ago.
"Who doesn't think that Conor is a global star? I think Conor's bigger than Pacquiao…when they fought definitely," White said on Friday.
While the split shared between McGregor and Mayweather will ultimately be the biggest point of contention during the negotiations, White also revealed that if the fight is made that it won't be a UFC related event whatsoever.
Several months ago, White stated that if he got involved in the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight, he would try to promote it as a massive event with several high profile fights underneath the main event. White even compared his idea to the star-studded UFC 205 event last November in New York when the promotion put together a huge card including three title fights in one night.
It appears those plans have fallen by the wayside as White now says an event with McGregor vs. Mayweather would be focused on that fight and any potential undercard would just be a typical boxing show and nothing related to mixed martial arts.
Of course one benefit of a non-UFC event is that if the fight comes together, the card wouldn't be beholden to any particular broadcast network or pay-per-view partner, although Mayweather has ties to Showtime so it's likely they would be involved in some way.
"It would be boxing. It's going to be a typical boxing match where it's all about the main event and not the undercard. That's boxing," White said.
"This won't be a UFC event. It's going to be a boxing event. So international is wide open, the slate is clear on our side to do whatever. I don't know what obstacles or hurdles they have to jump over."
While the proposed date for the fight may not be until the late summer or fall of this year, White also revealed that McGregor is champing at the bit to get back in action. The UFC lightweight champion has been out since last November and just recently celebrated the birth of his first child, but White knows he's itching to get back into the cage again and that's why he's already asked for another UFC fight after any potential showdown with Mayweather.
Some have worried that if McGregor cashes in on a potential nine-figure payday to face Mayweather that his days in the UFC are numbered, but White promises that couldn't be further from the truth.
"He says win, lose or draw, in the Mayweather fight, he wants to fight again before the end of the year," White said.
First things first, McGregor needs to figure out whether or not he's fighting Mayweather and then he can make any decisions regarding his future with the UFC.
