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Dana White urged to pay ‘Whatever it costs’ to land UFC return for Conor McGregor this year

Dana White told to pay whatever it costs to make Conor McGregor return to the UFC Eddie Hearn Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn has some advice for UFC CEO, Dana White – in the form of luring…

Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn has some advice for UFC CEO, Dana White – in the form of luring former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor back to the Octagon later this year, by paying the Dubliner “whatever it costs” to compete again.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight titleholder under the promotion’s banner, has been sidelined since he fractured his left tibia and fibula in an opening round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier back in 2021.

And linked with a comeback since the beginning of last year, McGregor, who served as an opposing coach on The Ultimate Fighter 31 against Michael Chandler, has been backed to fight the former Bellator MMA lightweight kingpin in his return.

Appearing destined to be denied a summer comeback to the UFC by promotional leader, White, McGregor has stressed his desire to make a return time and time again in recent months – however, apparently to no avail.

Dana White urged to cough up for Conor McGregor comeback

And as far as the above-mentioned British promoter, Hearn is concerned, McGregor should be paid “whatever it costs” by White in order to bag his fighting return this year inside the Octagon.

“If it was me – and it’s not me, and Dana (White) certainly doesn’t need my advice – but I’m brining (Conor) McGregor back, whatever it costs,” Eddie Hearn told MMA Fighting. “He injects an enthusiasm and a vibrancy into the UFC that no one else can. There is no one in the sport who can make it happen for the UFC and MMA like Conor McGregor.”

“When he comes back, the press conferences, the build up, the value of the business, the ratings, the pay-per-view numbers [all increase],” Hearn explained.

Without a victory since 2020, McGregor’s most recent win came in the form of a first round high-kick and strikes knockout win over Hall of Fame inductee, Donald Cerrone inside just 40-seconds at the welterweight limit.

Do you think Conor McGregor makes his comeback later this year?

Boxing Promoter Eddie Hearn hopes Leon Edwards ‘Smashes that geezer’ Colby Covington at uFC 296

British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn doesn’t care much for mixed martial arts, but even he has found himself emotionally…

British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn doesn’t care much for mixed martial arts, but even he has found himself emotionally invested in Leon Edwards’ showdown against Colby Covington at UFC 296.

On Thursday, Edwards and Covington took the stage alongside other members of the UFC 296 main card at a press event inside T-Mobile Arena. It didn’t take long for ‘Chaos’ to take over the festivities, delivering a series of jabs to his opponent and other panelists that fell within the range of light-hearted to semi-distasteful. However, Covington clearly crossed the line when he made an absolutely vile comment about Leon Edwards’ deceased father.

During one of the many back-and-forth exchanges between the pair, Covington took things to an unnecessarily personal level, drawing the ire of fans and media members alike.

“I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell,” Covington told Edwards, before adding: “We’ll say ‘What’s up’ to your dad while we’re there.”

Edwards’ father was shot and killed in a London nightclub when the MMA star was just 13 years old. ‘Rocky’ has since said he believes the motive of the murderer was a dispute over money.

Understandably upset, Edwards chucked a bottle at Covington before the two fighters stood up from their seats. Security quickly intervened, preventing things from escalating further. While getting both fighters back to their chairs, Covington continued pandering to the pro-America crowd in his elementary-level cosplay.

Eddie Hearn Condemns Covington’s ‘Horrible’ comment

Speaking with IFL TV, Eddie Hearn condemned Covington’s press conference comments, saying:

“I don’t know anything about UFC, I’ve met Leon a couple of times, lovely fella — I hope he smashes that geezer to pieces tomorrow night. Like, how can you say that? I know you can get carried away, but you’ve got to have some kind of compassion. That’s a horrible thing to say.”

Do you agree with Eddie Hearn? Did Covington go too far, or is there simply nothing considered off-limits in the fight game anymore?

Colby Covington goes into his third shot at the welterweight world title having gone 2-2 in his last four outings dating back to 2019. During that run, ‘Chaos’ suffered losses against then-champion Kamaru Usman on two separate occasions while scoring wins over Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, two fighters who have since retired from the sport following a series of defeats.

Eddie Hearn doubts UFC alum Francis Ngannou will even be able to Hurt Tyson Fury: ‘He can’t win a round’

Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn gives Francis Ngannou little chance to even hurt Tyson Fury in their upcoming bout next…

Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn gives Francis Ngannou little chance to even hurt Tyson Fury in their upcoming bout next weekend.

In just over a wee, Fury and Ngannou are set to do battle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in what will be a ten round boxing exhibition. Ngannou is set to earn a a sizeable paycheque and it will be a great achievement following his departure from the UFC, however most people are giving him no chance.

Fury is the reigning WBC champion, the Englishman’s record stands at 33-0-1 and is unique talent with his mixture of size, speed and movement.

Eddie Hearn doubts Francis Ngannou

Talking to Boxing Social, Eddie Hearn discussed the upcoming matchup. While Ngannou is certainly a talented MMA fighter, the Matchroom Boxing promoter doesn’t think that this will matter and believes Francis Ngannou would even be able to compete past the halfway point.

“Whatever Tyson wants to do,” Hearn began. “If it’s fought at any kind of pace, I don’t feel like Francis Ngannou can physically do more than four, five rounds. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. They’re not used to that kind of fighting. I know MMA is still high intensity, but trust me, you’ll see. (H/T Boxing Social)

“Fury may play with him and just hold him up. If Fury wants to, he’ll stop him in the first round, no problem. If not, he’ll school him, get him to gas out and stop him on his feet.”

Fury’s chin is also one of note, taking everything that the hard hitting Deontay Wilder had to throw at him. Hearn says that Ngannou, who is known for his power, might not even be able to hurt Fury

“He can’t win a round. He can’t hurt him. He could actually put his chin out and let Ngannou hit him clean and it wouldn’t bother him, honestly. They’re not strikers like boxers.”

Do you agree with Eddie Hearn?

Ex-UFC star Nate Diaz responds to Eddie Hearn’s criticism of Jake Paul fight: ‘Keep my name outta your mouth’

Nate Diaz snapped back at Eddie Hearn after the British boxing promoter had some harsh words about the former UFC star’s pro boxing debut earlier this month. On August 5, Diaz stepped inside the squared circle for the first time to take on social media sensation Jake Paul. Emanating from American Airlines Center in Dallas, […]

Nate Diaz snapped back at Eddie Hearn after the British boxing promoter had some harsh words about the former UFC star’s pro boxing debut earlier this month.

On August 5, Diaz stepped inside the squared circle for the first time to take on social media sensation Jake Paul. Emanating from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Diaz and Paul delivered an entertaining 10-round affair that ultimately saw ‘The Problem Child’ walk away with his seventh career victory via a decisive unanimous decision.

While a majority of fight fans were enthused by Paul’s performance and the mid-fight antics of Nate Diaz, not everyone was appreciative of the pair’s efforts. Specifically Eddie Hearn, who slammed the fight during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

“It was awful, I’m watching that thinking ‘This is so bad’,” Hearn said. “The reason that Nate didn’t get stopped is because Jake doesn’t know how to break a fighter down, cut off the ring, beat him up, and stop him. But I give my props to Nate, super tough. But you’re talking about low, low level in terms of standard” (h/t MMA News).

Nate Diaz Issues a Warning to Eddie Hearn

Getting wind of Hearn’s comments, Nate Diaz snapped back on social media, suggesting that the boxing personality keep the Diaz name out of his mouth.

“Eddie Hearn I’ll beat all ur fighters a**es,” Diaz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Lightweight middleweight Heavyweights any weight all of them will get f*cked up. And unless it’s complimentary keep my name outta your mouth cause u might get it also. And fighters check your promoter so he doesn’t get u guys punked.”

Eddie Hearn I’ll beat all ur fighters asses
Lightweight middleweight Heavyweights any weight all of them will get fucked up
And unless it’s complimentary keep my name outta your mouth cause u might get it also

And fighters check your promoter so he doesn’t get uguys punked…

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) August 18, 2023

Much to Eddie Hearn’s chagrin, Nate Diaz could potentially choose to strap on the 10-ounce gloves once more before making a return to the UFC. Considering the recent reports that his pay-per-view scrap with Jake Paul drew over 500,000 buys in the United States, nobody could blame both fighters for jumping into a rematch and cashing in on what they built in the Lone Star State.

Conor McGregor, Eddie Hearn involved in ringside row following Irish fighter’s devastating KO loss

Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn has revealed he and former two-weight UFC champion, Conor McGregor bickered ringside in an argument, after Naas native, Gary Cully suffered a devastating third round knockout loss to Jose Felix Jr. on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s Irish homecoming against Chantelle Cameron, with McGregor questioning the matchmaking of the clash. […]

Cully, a native of Kildare, featured as chief support alongside Felix Jr. ahead of last night’s undisputed super-lightweight title fight at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

Putting his undefeated 16-0 professional record on the line, Cully, 27, suffered a stunning third round standing TKO loss to Felix Jr., taking brutal punishment in the form of multiple stuns and wobbles, before his cornermen eventual threw in the towel.

Eddie Hearn reveals spat with UFC star, Conor McGregor

And speaking on the WBA inter-continental lightweight champion’s loss on home soil, the above-mentioned, Hearn, revealed that he and Conor McGregor – who had sponsored the event in the capital, had argued ringside.

“He (Gary Cully) never recovered from the first knockdown,” Eddie Hearn said during an interview with IFL TV. “[He] got overexcited, had his chin in the air, got hit by a Mexican who can punch.”

“I had a bit of a row – a friendly row with Conor McGregor, because he said, ‘Why did you put him in with him?’” Eddie Hearn revealed. “You’ve got to beat kids like that. Tyrone McKenna beat him, Sandor Martin beat him. You are talking about Gary Cully being a world-class lightweight, you have to beat guys like that. He would have beaten him if he would have boxed smart, but it was a devastating defeat and he’s going to learn a lot from that.”

Appearing prominently during fight week ahead of the 3Arena event, McGregor attended the event in support of undisputed lightweight champion, Taylor, as the Olympic gold medalist suffered her first professional loss in the form of a majority decision loss against super-lightweight champion, Cameron.

Francis Ngannou tipped to fail in boxing venture: ‘He cannot go in and compete technically’

Eddie Hearn says he’d love to work with Francis Ngannou and arrange some boxing matches but doesn’t believe his skills would translate very well against boxing’s heavyweight elite. Famed boxing promoter Hearn has been around forever in the sport and has nurtured Anthony Joshua’s career as a promoter since 2013 when the famed UK boxer […]

Eddie Hearn says he’d love to work with Francis Ngannou and arrange some boxing matches but doesn’t believe his skills would translate very well against boxing’s heavyweight elite.

Famed boxing promoter Hearn has been around forever in the sport and has nurtured Anthony Joshua’s career as a promoter since 2013 when the famed UK boxer Joshua first made his transition over from Olympic boxing.

Hearn believes he could do exciting things with Ngannou in the sport, and a match between ‘The Predator’ and ‘AJ’ could be thrilling and give Ngannou that big-money boxing fight he’s been wanting so badly.

Ngannou has made waves as perhaps the biggest MMA free agent in history. He refused to re-sign with the UFC, forfeited his heavyweight title, and has since been searching for bigger and better opportunities. He’s got his eye set on either the PFL or ONE FC when it comes to MMA, but before he signs, Francis Ngannou still desperately wants to compete in boxing against the current greats of the sport.

Eddie Hearn is doubtful that Francis Ngannou’s skills would translate well into boxing

“Personally, you cannot in a million years, with Francis Ngannou’s ability in boxing and pedigree in boxing, go in and compete technically, skill-wise — not just with AJ, but with any top-20 heavyweight in the world,” Hearn began, speaking on The MMA Hour. “But in that division, the difference is, what you can do is you could knock someone out. So it doesn’t matter whether Francis fights Anthony Joshua — Tyson Fury, I agree with you, horrible fight for Francis Ngannou because he’d he just poke [Ngannou] around — Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora, Jermaine Franklin; he has no chance against those guys, other than to be aggressive, trade up, and catch someone clean and take him out.”

“So I think that you are correct in your statement, in that … people would give fighters a much better chance against AJ having watched that performance. In your world, that translates to Francis Ngannou,” Hearn continued (H/T MMA Fighting). “And why not? I don’t feel like it’s a fight that’s going to continue the development of Anthony Joshua under his new trainer, but I’d [recently] done lunch with Francis Ngannou. You know his story. I was completely gobsmacked by the story of this man. We sat for two hours, and I was just listening to just the most remarkable — I mean, how this isn’t a film, I have no idea. Unbelievable.”

Eddie Hearn is eager to make money off of Francis Ngannou

It’s obvious Eddie Hearn would love to make millions off of Ngannou, and the boxing promoter even began to talk about turning his story into some Hollywood blockbuster.

“I’m thinking, ‘Please let me go to Hollywood now with you and sell this film.’ People need to be educated about what that man has been through and his story to get to where he’s got to. I found him fascinating. Lovely guy, lovely guy, and I’d love to do something.”

In Hearn’s defense, ‘The Predator’ does have one of the most remarkable stories in MMA. Commenting on it in this article wouldn’t nearly do it justice, so don’t be afraid to do some research and read up on it. Let’s just say Francis Ngannou is an incredible human. The things he’s gone through to get where he’s at today will stand the test of time. A movie should be made about his life, but that might not even do the story justice. It could even require a short series about it of hour-long episodes even to get close to telling it fairly. It wouldn’t be surprising if, a decade from now, he’s considered a beloved combat sports legend similar to Mike Tyson.

As far as boxing goes, Eddie Hearn is eager to get Ngannou in there with anybody and everybody. “Dillian Whyte. Otto Wallin. Joe Joyce is another big fight. It’s a tough fight, but who knows,” Hearn said. “But I just feel that if we’re going to go into a Fury or Wilder, which is inevitable, I just want him to go in with the best chance that he can have. And I just feel that, right now, he’s not at the optimum level he could be to go into that fight.”

“He (Anthony Joshua) would still go into them, and I still give him a chance in those fights. I believe he could win those fights. But I would just like to see him firing and going into those fights. And what I saw (against Franklin) wasn’t AJ firing on all cylinders.”

Who would you want to see Francis Ngannou box if it ever happens, or would you just prefer him to re-sign with the UFC?