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Dana White is usually outspoken about his feelings towards some of his now-former fighters transitioning into boxing. However, the longtime UFC boss seems to have a surprising amount of good will for the recently-booked bout between Nate Diaz and Jake Paul—even if he found a way to take another jab at long-time rival promoter Oscar De La Hoya along the way.
Dana White gives his reaction to Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
Dana White was asked about the Paul-Diaz booking during his post-event scrum after UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen on Saturday. Much to everyone’s surprise, White didn’t have anything negative to say, and even wished both men big financial returns.
“I don’t want to shit on other people’s fights, like Oscar De La Weirdo,” Dana White told the reporters in attendance.“ But yeah, no. I don’t want to talk about the fight. There’s no… first of all, neither guy is my guy. There’s just no need for me to comment on it or whatever.
“I wish them the best. I hope they make a zillion dollars.”
Dana White’s opinion on crossover fights
While he was involved in one of the biggest crossover fights in recent history when he co-promoted the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor bout in 2017, Dana White generally doesn’t have a high opinion about those kinds of matchups. The UFC president once blasted the talked-about potential boxing match between former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury, calling it a “silly, stupid, f–ng waste of time.”
And here’s what he said about the Canelo Alvarez-Kamaru Usman crossover that was talked about when ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was the UFC’s undisputed welterweight champion and top pound-for-pound fighter.
“Everything about it is horrible,” he told Sky Sports in a May 2022 interview. “Usman is not a boxer, Canelo is probably the best guy out there right now. It’s just a stupid fight that makes no sense.
“I don’t even know how many people would even be interested in seeing that. It’s like when Conor and Floyd fought, it sort of took on a life of its own.”
The promotion for Paul vs. Diaz has begun
The Jake Paul-Nate Diaz bout is scheduled to happen on August 5th. But we’re already starting to see promotional clips and highlights making their way to social media. Here’s a trailer for the event.
Diaz, who left the UFC after his UFC 279 headliner against Tony Ferguson last September, has been in Paul’s crosshairs ever since. The 38-year-old veteran is also being targeted by BKFC for a possible bare-knuckle boxing match with fellow UFC veteran Mike Perry.
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