Next challenge?
LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White said Saturday he plans to make Floyd Mayweather Jr. a multi-million dollar offer to fight his lightweight champion after Mayweather's numerous putdowns of mixed martial arts fighters.
About 90 minutes after Mayweather's victory over Oscar De La Hoya, a bout in which he earned $10 million plus a cut of the pay-per-view revenues that could double that figure, White said he was prepared to match Mayweather with UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk.
White wouldn't be pinned down on a specific number, though he said, "I promise you, I will make it worth his while. I will make it very worth his while."
White was undaunted even after hearing of Mayweather's large payday.
"I told you, we can make him a very, very competitive offer if he still feels he can beat one of our guys," White said.
White was so angry at repeated comments made by Mayweather disparaging the UFC and mixed martial artists during the buildup to his fight with De La Hoya that he brought UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta and Sherk to the MGM Grand Garden to make a case for a fight with Mayweather.
Mayweather sent a peace offering to White via UFC vice president Marc Ratner before Saturday's bout. Mayweather told Ratner to tell White he was only kidding when he was ripping the UFC and its fighters.
"Floyd talked to Marc Ratner and he told Marc, 'Tell Dana I love him and all this talk about the UFC was just hype,' " White said. "Floyd and I used to be really close and I was kind of disappointed and (ticked) off with the way he was talking."
As for Sherk, White said, "He loved being here and seeing the atmosphere, and I think he left here believing he'd beat the living (expletive) out of the guy if he ever got the chance."
