Just a couple of days back, UFC head honcho Dana White took to social media to make the announcement, posting a video on X with the caption: “BOOOOOOM!!!!! Boxing here we come.” In the video, White stated that he had “just done a deal to start a new boxing league with Turki, who absolutely loves the sport of boxing.” He added, “The best will fight the best and the fighters will continue to move up the rankings and become world champions.” Ever since this banger, there has been a wave of speculation and questions, one of which centers around the possibility of UFC fighters being among this ‘pack of best’ stepping into the boxing ring.

Well, the UFC CEO has firmly dismissed this idea, claiming that it will “never” happen. At 55, White is committed to keeping MMA fighters exclusively in the Octagon while running his boxing venture in the traditional model of matching boxers against boxers. However, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub suggests that things may not be as straightforward as White implies, hinting at potential complexities in the future of both sports.

Despite being part of one of the biggest combat sports events ever, the Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight, Dana White has since remained uninterested in so-called ‘gimmick fights’. He doubled down on it during a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he intends to keep things that way. “We keep the boxers in the boxing and MMA guys in the MMA,” said the UFC CEO. However, it’s important to note that the only time he agreed to do that was for his golden goose in the form of McGregor. Now, there is a possibility that he does the same with Alex Pereira.

“He says that, but if Alex were to win, and let’s say, he knocks out f—ing Aspinall and he’s just an even bigger star and Usyk’s asking for him, then Dana’s going to play ball,” Brendan Schaub stated in a video on his YouTube channel. However, he does seem to believe that Dana White might only give the green light for jumping from the Octagon to the squared circle to a select few fighters, who, of course, are the biggest stars in the promotion, as we’ve mentioned already. “You’re not gonna see some randoms fighting over in boxing under the TKO umbrella. I agree with him on that, but the big boys? He’ll have his hand in.”

For the unversed, the former 205lbs champion expressed his interest in fighting Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian called him out, which shocked many. That caused quite a stir in the fighting world, and Schaub believes that Dana White could make use of his boxing venture to make sure that this fight materializes when he sets up his new league.

Meanwhile, Alex Pereira is not seeking to defy his employer, like Francis Ngannou, and keeps calling for the boxing match against Oleksandr Usyk. He seems to be a loyal UFC guy and is willing to do “whatever” Dana White wants him to do. “It doesn’t depend on me, it depends on the UFC; whatever the UFC want me to do, I’ll do it,” Pereira stated during UFC 313’s media day. As we all know, loyalty does go a long way for the head honcho!

Meanwhile, Dana White has garnered praise for his new endeavor with HE Turki Alalshikh and the TKO group for stepping into boxing. And guess what? It came from one of the most unexpected individuals, at least from the UFC CEO’s perspective.

Dana White gets praised for his ‘willingness to promote’ boxing

Dana White has already established the UFC brand as the biggest in the MMA world. As such, he could do the same boxing, and for renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, it’s exciting times for the sport. While Matchroom Boxing head honcho Eddie Hearn criticized White for claiming that boxing was ‘broken’, he still felt like his entry could only help the sport. The same sentiment has been echoed by Helwani, even though he does see the UFC CEO eye to eye.

“The game plan, if you will, the blueprint, yeah I think it’s a pretty damn good one. Four mega shows with mega fights at the top. Populate the card with your week-to-week, day-to-day fighters,” Helwani stated on his self-titled YouTube show. “Big-time distribution. Endless funds. A willingness to promote and build from the ground up. Brilliant minds who have been a part of the fight game for decades. What’s there to criticize?”

Dana White has claimed that there will be more updates coming soon regarding his new boxing promotion, and it will be interesting to see if it does break his own rule and promote crossover fights. Do you think we’ll get Alex Pereira vs Oleksandr Usyk in the future? Drop your comments below.