Dana White isn’t sold on seeing anymore MMA/Boxing crossovers.
Many athletes in combat sports have crossed over to some other field. The world of MMA has seen MMA fighters attempt to cross over into boxing, only to come up short.
And when it comes to boxers trying their hand at mixed martial arts, there is much room for improvement.
Some prime examples of cross-overs include undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather versus UFC veteran Conor McGregor in 2017. Notably, McGregor fought well in 10 out of 12 rounds of the fight, but Mayweather pulled away and claimed the TKO victory.
And Tyron Woodley losing to Jake Paul twice has likely yet to leave the minds of some hardcore fans.
To compare, multi-time boxing champion James Toney was eager to fight Randy Couture in MMA. He was determined to come out on top but was finished via arm-triangle choke at 1:30 in the first round.
But the lack of success from crossovers has not stopped everyone from trying the challenge.
For instance, UFC Champions Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou both want a taste of boxing royalty. Usman continuously flirts with the idea of boxing renowned Canelo Álvarez, while Ngannou has his target set on “The Gypsy King” Tyson Fury.
Ngannou and Usman believe those fights will make history, but Dana White appears to be completely over the idea from his interview with ESPN MMA.
“We saw it. We saw what happens,” White said. “We know what happens if a boxer comes into the UFC, and we know what happens when UFC fighters go to boxing, especially when you’re talking about like Canelo, the best in the world, and the best of all time Mayweather. It’s just silly.”
White has expressed a complete lack of interest in MMA/boxing crossovers with anyone on his fight roster, especially, if he feels the fight would not be as lucrative as the Mayweather vs McGregor bout.
What are your opinions on MMA/Boxing crossovers?