Dana White Says No To Alex Pereira Boxing

October 4, 2024
4 weeks
Dana White Says No To Alex Pereira Boxing

Dana White does not want to see Alex Pereira have a crossover boxing fight. 

Pereira is one of the biggest names in the UFC. The two-weight world champion is considered one of the best P4P fighters in the world. He has won titles at middleweight and light heavyweight. He knocked out Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in his last fight to defend his belt. Alex will face Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 this weekend. 

However, prior to his UFC career, he did have one boxing fight. He faced off against the Brazilian Marcelo de Souza Cruz in 2017, knocking him out in the third round. There were suggestions that Pereira could enter into boxing after Anthony Joshua first suggested that he should explore the idea. Pereira responded positively to the comments by asking Joshua who he could face.

UFC Fighters Boxing

Jake Paul then took things a step further after he called out Pereira. The Problem Child knocked out Mike Perry in his last fight to then FaceTime the Brazilian in the ring to request the fight. Dana White immediately got news of it and dismissed the fight. The CEO of the UFC has only allowed one UFC fighter to have a crossover bout. 

That was when Conor McGregor boxed Floyd Mayweather in 2017. McGregor may have lost via a 10th round stoppage, but he earned a reported $100 million from the fight. The fight also sold around 4.3 million PPVs globally, making it one of the most successful combat sports events of all time. There have been other MMA fighters who have had crossover fights. But these have happened once they have not been active in the UFC.

Nate Diaz boxed Jake Paul last August, losing a unanimous decision. He then had a boxing bout with Jorge Masvidal, beating him by a majority decision. The win avenged his loss to Gamebread at UFC 244 in 2019. Dana White has also said that he is going to make an announcement about whether he enters into the sport of boxing.

White On Pereira

He previously was linked with creating Zuffa Boxing in 2018. However, that did not happen as White kept his focus on building the UFC. And given that he has helped Pereira become one of the biggest stars in the sport, he does not see why the Brazilian would cross over into boxing when there was so much to achieve in the UFC.

“I don’t know. I mean, when you look at where he’s at right now, he’s at the top of this game. He’s about to break [Rousey’s record] if he wins the fight on Saturday night. God knows what other records he could break here. He’s 38 years old, which is even more impressive when you add that on top of anything else.”

“I don’t know [if he will fight in boxing]. I’m not even thinking about that kind of stuff, I’m not thinking about crossover fights. I hate crossover fights, I respect the fact that he wants to do it. I know there’s tons of other fights that probably want to do it. But, I want everybody to stay in their own lane,” White said 

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