White responds to McGregor getting licensed as a boxer

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking a break from fighting until May when he and partner Dee Devlin are expecting their first child. He has spoken little of who he wants to fight next. He was in fact silent on the featherweight division, and made the decision to give up the belt. He dismissed #1 lightweight contender as a “pull-out merchant.” And McGregor expressed a minor interest in challenging Tyron Woodley for the featherweight belt.

The only contest he is doing anything about is a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and he named his price – 100 million dollars. Mayweather responded to what McGregor said by describing himself as an elephant couldn’t hear what the mouse McGregor had said. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said it was a con and Dana White would never allow McGregor to box Mayweather.

And Dana White just took it in stride.

I have no idea what Conor is doing, said White to Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports. Conor’s Conor. He does his thing. But he’s under contract to me. Who knows with this guy? Who knows what he is up to. I just let Conor be Conor.

“And the other thing is, it’s fun to talk about this fight and what might happen, but what commission would let that fight happen? Really, think about that.

The potential boxing match is too fun a subject not to think about.

One perspective is that a commission allowed James Toney to fight Randy Couture. So an MMA fighter should be extended the same opportunity in reverse. And while a top MMA fighter cannot box with comparable skill to that possessed by a top boxer, it’s way better than being a boxer in MMA. Toney could do literally nothing, literally did not throw one punch. Or for that matter a side check kick. The southpaw McGregor will be able to jab, and to the extent that anyone gets to Mayweather at all, it is southpaws.

So in fairness, MMA is owed a shot in the ring.