“BOOOOOOM!!!!! Boxing here we come.” With these words, Dana White officially kickstarted his (second) journey in boxing with Sheikh Turki Alalshikh standing beside him. And where does that leave us? Well, how about a crossover between MMA and boxing, with Alex Pereira finally getting to box Oleksandr Usyk? It might just be the next big thing in the MMA-Boxing crossover. And the UFC light heavyweight champion likes to think so too.
At UFC 313 media day, a reporter asked Pereira if White’s entry into the realm of the squared rings made Pereira vs. Usyk a bit more real. The man with the hands of stone replied, “Absolutely, man. I was hyped, I was happy when I heard the news. Who knows? September, Saudi Arabia.” Needless to say, the hype was truly high. It remained high ever since Pereira declared that he wanted to follow Conor McGregor’s footsteps and take on a fight with a professional boxer. On an episode of the JAXXON Podcast earlier in January 2025, Pereira declared that he wanted to take on a champion since he was also a champion. And Usyk was the name that filled that void in the best way possible.
With ‘The Cat’ showing a similar level of excitement to fight ‘Poatan’, the fighting realm started speculating if the matchup could surpass the McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight. McGregor vs. Mayweather wasn’t just a show. It was also a big payday for the fighters. ‘Money’ reportedly earned $280 million and ‘The Notorious’ thickened his wallet by a rumored $130 million from their fight. The total was a whopping $410 million! But will Pereira vs. Usyk rise above that? When a reporter asked the same to Pereira during UFC 313 media day, the LHW champ said, “Well, I don’t know. I cannot tell you. We both know the level of popularity those both guys have. I think a little step behind on media here. But let’s see how it goes.”
Then, in 2017, White sported the ‘Zuffa Boxing’ t-shirt for the Mayweather-McGregor promotions, and later announced that he was “getting into boxing, 100 percent.” But after losing big names like Anthony Joshua to rival promoters, it was nothing but crickets for a while… until now.
Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather was a bout that proved that even though a mixed martial artist dominated the Octagon, he might not do so in the boxing ring. Another example would be Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua. But Pereira vs. Usyk might be a different story altogether. Still, no matter the hype around the bout, the final decision lies with Dana White and Co.
What does Dana White think of Alex Pereira vs. Oleksandr Usyk?
White weighed in on Alex Pereira vs. Usyk during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. Even though the fight would be pretty interesting, the UFC head honcho stood against it. He said, “I’m sure there are guys that want to box, but I literally don’t want to see any of that. We’ll keep the boxers in boxing, and the MMA guys in MMA.”
White, in a conversation with Ring Magazine, revealed that there would be no change in the format. By that, he meant that the best would fight the best and the fighters who prove themselves will go on to climb the rankings. Sounds just like the UFC, right? Well, that’s exactly what the UFC CEO has planned for TKO Boxing.
White recently confessed, “What I would love to do is build this thing from the ground up, the way that we did the UFC… You have everybody start fighting everybody [and] when you get to the top 5, there’s no denying who the best five guys in the world are. And then they all fight it out to see who’s the world champion.”
The Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia stood in complete support of White’s notion. With Sheikh Turki Alashikh siding together with Dana White, we can certainly expect a banger storyline in the boxing realm. However, the hyper-exciting bout between Pereira and Usyk might not materialize. Nevertheless, the sliver of hope still exists. What are your thoughts on the matchup between Pereira and Usyk? Do you think White should just let the fight happen at TKO Boxing? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
