Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has once again come out swinging in the direction of UFC President Dana White.
The two combat sports executives have traded words on numerous occasions in the last few years.
A few days ago, White appeared on The Unnamed Podvideocast, and stated that his company could potentially promote boxing events in the future.
Back in August, White was a big part of the promotion for the cross-sport boxing match between comebacking Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the UFC's biggest superstar, Conor McGregor.
“I could see bringing boxing under our umbrella and trying to see what we could do with that,” White said. “I could see doing that.”
According to Arum, White's company is struggling, they no longer have the big stars, their pay-per-view numbers are crumbling - and all of these factors are forcing the UFC executive to pursue other avenues to generate revenue.
Arum claims that a year ago, he was approached by someone on behalf of the UFC, to explore the possibility of buying Top Rank.
“My thoughts are that UFC is desperate,” Arum told Michael Woods of NY Fights. "Their numbers are way off, they have no marquee star. Look at their PPV numbers. They barely break 100,000 homes on their shows. They’re having trouble getting renewal on their contract with FOX. They have to do something. One of things they may try and fall back on and try and acquire a boxing presence. About a year ago, I was approached by someone repping UFC, they wanted to buy Top Rank.”
In addition, Arum once again placed the spotlight on the low pay scale of UFC athletes when compared to professional boxers - and they unfair advantage possessed by the UFC, which allows them to dictate the financial terms to their fighters.
“You have to understand, UFC is a monopoly, the money they earn on a fight because they pay their athletes 20 percent of the gross, we pay around 80 percent, what they say they’re investing back in the business, they’re investing in themselves, they put money in their pockets,” Arum said.
“That’s not investing in anything. In boxing, there are a large number of promoters, and when a promoter has a successful event and there’s a profit he earns, he puts it back in the company. What the f*** is White talking about? White is speaking from desperation now, he’s the spokesperson for what could be a failing business!”
