Dana White gives McGregor-Mayweather 75 percent chance, calls 50-50 split 'pretty fair'

UFC President Dana White has yet to get down to numbers with Floyd Mayweather’s team on a potential boxing showdown with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

But White is confident a 50-50 split between the UFC and McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) – who recently ironed out a deal for one side of the fight – and Mayweather (49-0 boxing) is “pretty fair.” And he’s now giving the fight a 75 percent chance of happening.

Not too long ago, White was saying he had a better chance of replacing Tom Brady at the Super Bowl.

“We haven’t even talked percentages yet,” White told reporters Wednesday during an appearance at New York’s Citified, via MMAFighting.com. “Floyd can think whatever, but the machine that the UFC has and Conor McGregor alone is a machine by himself. I think that 50-50 is pretty fair.”

But, of course, it’s all talk until the two sides get into a room. White previously has been way off in his estimation of a fair deal, prompting Mayweather to call him a “comedian” after an initial offer of $25 million and a split of pay-per-view proceeds.

If the boxing match co-promoted by the MMA industry leader and Mayweather performs anywhere close to what White expects, there’s going to be a lot more money floating around. After the first offer fizzled quickly, White’s estimate was revised sharply upward.

“I think this thing does, conservatively, between 2.5 and 4 million (pay-per-view) buys,” White said. “Other people think more. … And this thing will kill it globally. Conor McGregor and the UFC are huge in Brazil, huge in Australia, massive in the UK and other parts of Europe.”

Mayweather’s mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao holds the all-time record for PPV buys with 4.4 million. Mayweather, who took 60 percent of the revenue to Pacquiao’s 40 percent, made a staggering $230 million for a unanimous decision victory.

It took years for the two boxing giants and their promoters to get on the same page to make the fight. But the UFC chief believes it will be much easier to get the job done this time around.

Without his nemesis Bob Arum in the picture, White hopes Mayweather and his longtime advisor, Al Haymon, won’t be laughing at his offer.

“We’re ready to go,” White said. “And I think what we’re looking at in the deal is as fair as fair can be. You’ve got to understand, Floyd and Haymon and that group are used to dealing with the scummiest human beings on the planet Earth. I think it’s a little refreshing working with us. And I’m not just being arrogant. They’ve said that to us. I can see it getting done.”

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