Staff ReporterThe “will they or won’t they?” drama surrounding a potential mega-fight between UFC star Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather has hit a fever pitch lately, as everyone has shared their thoughts on the hypothetical bout.
However, the two fighters have been unable to reach an agreement to this point, much to the chagrin of their vast fanbases.
Mayweather said on Thursday that he thinks the biggest snag in the negotiations has been UFC president Dana White.
According to DailyMail.co.uk, Mayweather said nothing will ever happen between him and McGregor if the UFC doesn’t sign off on it:
“I can’t say if it’s going to happen,” he told the BBC. “It’s all up to the UFC. I’ve done my part. I’m just waiting. If they want the fight to happen, let’s see.
“When it comes to money, of course I’m always thinking business. But it’s about entertainment. It’s a very, very entertaining match-up.”
Indeed, money likely wouldn’t be an issue if the mega-fight were to happen, as it’d be one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in history.
However, since McGregor will have to defend his lightweight title against the winner of this weekend’s UFC 209 matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at some point in the near future, it’s uncertain when a potential boxing match against Mayweather would take place.
Still, if the two sides can agree to fight soon, there will be time to sort everything out and figure out how to schedule two fights for the Irish star in 2017.
Until a decision on whether they’ll actually fight or not is reached, the speculation will continue to run rampant, with Mayweather, McGregor and McGregor’s potential future opponents facing constant questions about the potential matchup.
At 40 years old, Mayweather can’t afford to have the negotiations drag on for much longer or else it won’t make much sense for him to risk his perfect 49-0 record against the 28-year-old Irish star, who sports a 21-3 record in his MMA career.
If a fight doesn’t take place in 2017, it likely never will, which would mean all the speculation and all the trash talk exchanged between the two parties was all for naught.
There’s been so much hype around this fight already that it would be a shame for both UFC and boxing fans if Money and Notorious don’t have a chance to prove, once and for all, who is the better fighter.