Dana White says he needs to reach an agreement with Conor McGregor
Friday 12 May 2017 18:20, UK
MMA champion Conor McGregor has been given a Sunday deadline to agree to fight retired boxing great Floyd Mayweather.
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said he will agree terms with McGregor by Sunday or move on and forget about the much-discussed bout between two legends from different fighting spheres.
Speaking on the Jim Rome radio show, White said: "I plan on having this thing locked up by this Sunday and then moving on to Team Mayweather and starting to negotiate with them.
"If we really do get it done in that time frame, then this thing could possibly happen."
White's UFC group has rights to any McGregor fight and must make a deal with him before approaching Mayweather about coming out of retirement.
And White says he likes his chances of at least having a pitch to make to the unbeaten boxer.
"I think they are pretty good," White added. "Hopefully, Monday, I'm going to go and sit down with Team Mayweather. I still need to go negotiate with them. There's no guarantee that we're going to come to a deal."
White is adamant that progress must be made soon or the plan will be abandoned.
"I just can't keep messing with this thing," he said. "I need to run my business and I have to focus on all the other things that are going on around here."
White's plans for the megafight were hit when boxers Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin set September 16 for their three-title middleweight showdown.
"That was the date we were shooting for," White confirmed. "We should have moved faster in the negotiations. The holdup has nothing to do with Mayweather's side. This is on our side".
McGregor, 28, has been the UFC's most popular fighter and among its top money spinners, while the 40-year-old Mayweather retired in 2015 with a 49-0 record, including 26 victories by knockout.
