UFC CEO Dana White recently addressed speculations about Endeavor (the UFC’s parent company) acquiring the esteemed boxing promotion Top Rank.
On December 25th, Rick Glaser reported on X that Top Rank was in the “final due diligence stage of being sold to Entertainment conglomerate Endeavor.”
Glaser hinted that the 92-year-old founder and CEO of Top Rank Bob Arum will be retiring. Dana White will be taking over operations, making his entry into the boxing world.
But soon after the information surfaced, White went on Instagram to squash the idea.
He wrote: “Absolutely positively not true. We are not buying Top Rank.”
Responding to White’s comment, Glaser stood by his initial report.
Additionally, combat sports journalist Kevin Iole conveyed White’s firm denial of the rumor. White reportedly stated: “1 million percent… total and absolute BS.”
Also, Top Rank’s president Todd duBoef denied any knowledge of the sale. He affirmed that the boxing promotion was not up for grabs.
Dana White has shown intermittent interest in sponsoring boxing contests throughout the years. During the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather bout, he expressed a desire to revolutionise the sport using UFC’s business strategies. However, White eventually abandoned this pursuit.
In early 2022, White hinted at revisiting the boxing world. But during an appearance on Amazon Prime’s The Cari Champion Show in November 2022, White criticized the sport’s corruption.
He mentioned engaging cautiously in boxing-related activities, highlighting the sport’s challenges:
“I’m already dabbling there and doing some things. I’m just sort of playing. I’m staying in the outside and sort of playing with it and it’s just such a corrupt, bad sport. It’s so corrupt and it’s really tough to navigate. So I’m staying in the background, I’m playing around and we’ll see what happens over the next couple of years.”
Earlier, White referred to boxing as a “nightmare to try to fix” and said that he thought boxers were overpaid in relation to their abilities.
It’s obvious that the UFC CEO has conflicting opinions regarding boxing. Still, it wouldn’t be the most surprising event if he intervened to promote it.