UFC president Dana White has come under fire from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani for claiming to have paid Floyd Mayweather for the high-profile boxing match against Conor McGregor.
Helwani voiced his concerns during an episode of ‘The MMA Hour‘, highlighting what he perceives as discrepancies in White’s account.
Recently, Tyson Fury and Jon Jones argued online over who would prevail in a no holds bar situation
White gave Fury the option to compete against Jones in the UFC. While discussing the potential deal, White brought up his experience in dealing with boxers, citing the Mayweather-McGregor matchup in 2017.
“If Tyson is serious and he wants to do it, I got Floyd Mayweather to fight. We paid Floyd and got him the number he wanted. If Tyson Fury is serious and he wants to fight Jon Jones in the UFC, let’s start talking.”
However, Helwani vehemently contested White’s assertion and claimed that the UFC president did not pay Mayweather for the event.
According to Helwani, White merely facilitated a deal between Conor McGregor and Mayweather promotions.
“You didn’t pay Floyd anything. Like I said on Monday, all you did was say, ‘Alright, Conor, we’ll cut a deal with you so you can go out and do this fight on Showtime with Mayweather promotions and all this stuff.’ You didn’t cut Floyd no checks. You didn’t make the deal with Floyd. You were on the other side of the equation.”
Helwani then went on to add: “This is hypocrisy, this is wishy-washyness, this is lies, this is revisionist history. They didn’t make no deal with Floyd. What are you talking about?… If you think they were cutting Floyd a check on August of 2017, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.”
The Mayweather-McGregor match was an unparalleled sporting spectacle that garnered immense attention worldwide. With over four million pay-per-view purchases and estimated revenue of at least $600 million, it remains one of the most lucrative events in combat sports history. While White undoubtedly played a crucial role in promoting the bout, it appears that Mayweather’s earnings did not stem from the UFC president.