Report: UFC President Dana White 'getting into boxing, 100 percent'

Turns out Zuffa Boxing really is more than just a T-shirt.

UFC President Dana White revealed at a Tuesday speaking session in California that he and the UFC are moving forward with plans to promote boxing events in the near future.

LATimes.com’s Lance Pugmire attended the session and got more from the UFC boss.

“No, no, no, I’m not leaving the UFC,” White told Pugmire.” I’m getting into boxing with (Endeavor CEO) Ari (Emanuel) and the UFC will be doing boxing, too.”

“It’s still early. We’re still working on it. I’ve got to get my (expletive) together, but I’m getting into boxing, man. It’s coming.”

White has hinted at this move in recent months.

In June, White suggested a potential move outside of his MMA comfort zone when he told MMAjunkie that he was looking at raising the awareness of “combat sports,” as a whole.

“I always say to you guys, we continue to take the sport to the next level,” White told MMAjunkie. “(The UFC Performance Institute) is part of it, and now that we have all of our employees together in one spot and collaboration is a lot better, we needed all that but aside from that, what we’re working on now will take combat sports to the next level.”

One month later, during the promotion for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing superfight, White famously wore a Zuffa Boxing T-shirt, immediately fueling speculation that he was looking at promoting in the sport as more than a one-off.

And in October, White told The Wall Street Journal’s “The Unnamed Podvideocast” he might be interested in promoting boxing events under the Zuffa banner.

“I could see bringing boxing under our umbrella and see what we can do with that,” he told The Journal’s Jason Gay. “I could see doing that.”

On Tuesday, White took it a step further, saying he planned on “getting into boxing, 100 percent.” However, he did caution that such a move will take some time.

“It’s harder than saying we’re getting into boxing,” White told Pugmire. “We still have to get some homework done. I feel like I can do it better than everyone else. I love the sport.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.