UFC president Dana White has shut down talk of fighters making life-changing amounts of money by switching from MMA to boxing.
Specifically, White said it's “not necessarily true” that MMA fighter-turned-boxer Francis Ngannou made more money in his two boxing fights than he would have made in the UFC or any other promotion. he said.
sports illustrated Ngannou reportedly earned $10 million for his boxing match with Tyson Fury in 2023, and another $20 million for his fight with Anthony Joshua in 2024. forbes.
“Boxing doesn't work like shit…It takes a super rich Saudi millionaire to make boxing work.”
Reporter Kevin Iall claimed that Ngannou is more focused on boxing than mixed martial arts.
“That's not necessarily true,” White told Ior. podcast. “That's not true. That's bull*** that the public believes, but it's not true. It's totally bull***. It's that bull*** that makes everyone think, 'Oh, let's go boxing.' That's just the conventional wisdom.'' “Boxing doesn't work, dammit,'' White yelled.
Ior, who said he's not a fan of crossover events like Ngannou or even fights featuring former YouTuber Jake Paul, asked White why he feels boxing tends to not do well financially for promoters. I asked Mr.
“What works?!” White asked rhetorically. “Boxing doesn’t work like shit… It takes a shitty Saudi millionaire to make boxing work.”
The UFC boss said he believes most boxing promotions benefit from huge financial support from figures with seemingly “unlimited” checkbooks. But financial backers eventually grow tired of the failing model and walk away.
“Even the Saudi millionaires are tired of fucking bullshit. It's all a myth,” White said. “Everything you told me is absolutely not true, it's such statements and quotes by the media… All the people who try boxing lose a lot in the end money.”
“This model doesn't work,” he added.
At the same time, White recently announced once again that he is open to entering the world of boxing himself after first expressing interest in promoting the sport in 2017.
He brought up the idea again in 2019, reportedly Key hires I was thinking about creating a boxing promotion and wanted to have it running by that October.
“Am I crazy?! Why am I thinking this?!” White said to Iole.
Asked if he thought the pay structure needed to be reformed for boxing to be successful, White insisted: “We have to.”
The 55-year-old claimed that this model has already been proven to be broken.
White's proposed organization would be called Zuffa Boxing and would operate out of the same facility as UFC and Power Slap in Las Vegas.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
