After months of negotiations, UFC superstar Conor McGregor has officially agreed terms on a deal to fight boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in the squared circle.
“McGregor’s side is done, I’m starting to work on the Mayweather side now,” White told Shaquille O’Neal after an NBA on TNT game between The Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. “I got one side done, now it’s time to work on the other. If we can come to a deal with [Al] Haymon and Mayweather, the fight’s going to happen.”
White also clarified on the show that the fight would be, “straight up boxing.”
Shortly afterwards, McGregor also confirmed the news on his MacLife website, describing it as a “record breaking deal.”
“It is an honor to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa LLC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Paradigm Sports Management,” McGregor’s statement read.
“The first, and most important part of this historic contract has now officially been signed off on. Congratulations to all parties involved. We now await Al Haymon and his boxer’s signature in the coming days.”
That’s all well and good, but the biggest stumbling block in this negotiation process was always expected to be when White turned his attention to dealing with Mayweather, who is no stranger to massive deals like this, and is nicknamed ‘Money’ for a reason.
“I made 300 [million dollars] in one night,” McGregor boasted on iFL TV yesterday. “Throughout my career I made 800 [million dollars] and it’s possible I can make another 300 [million dollars].”
In a separate interview, Mayweather made it clear that a fight with McGregor is the only one that would encourage him to return to the ring.
“There’s only one fight that makes business sense,” Mayweather told ESNews. “I came out of retirement because I’m a businessman and I want to give the world what they want to see.
“McGregor’s a fighter, I’m a fighter. This is what the fight fans and MMA fans want to see.”
