Dana White says Floyd Mayweather will have to fight Khabib in UFC

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been hyping up a potential fight ever since Khabib defeated Conor McGregor earlier this month, but there is one significant obstacle standing in the way of it actually happening — the bout would have to take place in the Octagon.

Mayweather insisted recently that the fight is going to happen, but he said it would have to be a boxing match. UFC president Dana White told TMZ this week that that is not going to work for him.

“Listen, if Mayweather wants to fight, come fight,” White said. “You fight in the UFC. We’re not boxing again. We did that once. That’s over. … You want to fight, come fight — a real fight.”

It was unlikely to begin with that Mayweather and Khabib would actually square off, but it seems virtually impossible if White insists upon an MMA setting. Mayweather is not going to do that at this point in his career, and Khabib is under contract with the UFC. White can basically squash the fight, and it sounds like he has no interest in signing off on another boxing match.

If Mayweather does fight again, a rematch of the highest-grossing fight in boxing history is far more probable than him getting into the Octagon with Khabib.