Dana White’s entrance into boxing with his UFC-Zuffa Boxing-TKO Group has caused quite the stir with promoters and fighters alike.
White has been open on how he plans to enroll the same concept that he has used with Mixed Martial Arts in boxing. White implemented a model that secured the majority of the sport’s biggest stars under one promotional umbrella (UFC), and enlisted them into rankings of the eight traditional weight classes, with each weight fighting for just one title. That differs completely from the modern boxing landscape, with fighters spread across a host of promoters and ranked by/fighting for the four recognized world championships (WBA/WBC/WBO/IBF).
White joined forces with Riyadh Season boss Turki Alalshikh with both men sharing a vision of reshaping the sport with the UFC model. White’s first promoted professional boxing match since his link up with Alalshikh will be the upcoming undisputed super middleweight title fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford. Following White’s entrance into boxing there has also been a newly proposed bill to alter the Professional Boxing Act of 1996, which is in place to protect the rights of professional boxers. The proposed Ali Revival Act is seen as the first step in creating a UFC-like business model for boxing.
One of White’s former UFC fighters, Molly McCann, has recently decided to call time on her MMA career and make a switch to professional boxing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. McCann saw exactly how White and the UFC-model operated from her debut with the promotion in 2018 to her MMA retirement in 2025, and was asked how she believes her former boss will do bringing his vision to the boxing business?
“If there's one thing I can say about that man is do not rule him out of doing anything he says,” McCann told BoxingScene. “We were in a world where MMA fighting… I was like, ‘Eee, what is that?’ Oh, you know, [I’m a] boxing pugilist over here – I fucking ended up working for him. Do you know what I mean? Anything he plans to do, he will do at the highest order. I do think he's on his way out of MMA. I think he's starting to set up. He's taken backward steps. He's not at as many fights anymore. He's setting up Hunter [Campbell] to be able to take over from him. He's like, fighters have to fight to live, he has to make the best fight cards to live. I think he just wants to clean up boxing. There's too much corruption in it. He's just going to try and find a way that makes one true belt and just let everyone fight all day.”
McCann’s new promoter, Hearn, is not a supporter of White’s ideas in the sport, believing the four traditional titles must remain and that the new Ali Revival Act is about “Ownership and control” for the UFC-Zuffa Boxing-TKO Group.
“I watched the same interview, actually,” McCann said of Hearn’s thoughts. “He was just kind of saying that won't work because there's too many people getting involved, too many promoters, too many managers, this, that and the other. [White] will find a way to do whatever he wants. You can see Eddie [Hearn]'s point of view. You could also see that might be right with him a little bit. That's why he's responding that way with that because it's the unknown. But I don't think that is the solution to it. There needs to be a better, a fairer way for it all, for everyone. Because it's not fair for your pros turning over and selling 300 tickets, and then paying for their opponents just to fight. It's like, how are you supposed to be a pro boxer and have a full-time job? It's just a lot. It's just a tough game to be in. You're not in it for the money.”
And how does McCann’s working relationship with Hearn compare to her last promoter, White?
“I didn't really have much of a... I don’t speak to Dana at the events,” she said. “Whereas I feel like it's more personal with Eddie. I haven't dealt with him yet on a fight week. So I'll let you know after.”
The main issue surrounding the UFC-model, especially for current professional boxers, is the pay structure in the UFC compared to that of professional boxing. It is widely regarded that the top fighters in the sport of boxing earn considerably more compared to their counterparts in MMA.
“Are they though?” questioned McCann. “The undisputed champions and the champions 100 per cent are, but are they? The media likes to say this a lot, but what Dana said is, ‘I've got 2,000 athletes that I have to pay and they all have to fight three times a year contractually.’ And how much do you pay one of your pros who's doing four rounds? And how much is my pro who's fighting three rounds? We only fight three rounds, so how much are they getting? And when you look it up, is it that different? And when you see some of the perks, we [UFC fighters] have nutritionists, strength and conditioning plans, strength and conditioning coaches, a performance institute that you can come and train at for free, free physio, free food on fight week, all your weight cuts taken care of, all your hydration, all your meals are done, your travel sorted. It's like that, do you know what I mean? And you haven't got to pay them to go and put a bid in for a fight, or I haven't got to give that promoter this much to fight for that. It's a lot into it. It's all the ugly sides of the sport that I don't like, but I'm just in it to just try and win a fight and just get a belt, that's it, to be honest.”
If White had his way with the one belt concept in boxing then it would be considerably harder for McCann to earn a shot at, or even capture, a world championship.
“I think the more belts the better – not the more belts, because you don't want to dilute the sport – but in terms of how many people do boxing compared to MMA, for you to get the belt, if there's only one, yeah, there is one pure true champion, but there's still going to be a way of corruption to be able to get that person to the top anyway,” she said. “So why can't you have a few more belts, and give more people a chance, and get more people active, and you only get to do this for this long of your life. So if more people can take part in sport, and have a chance to win, then that's better, isn't it?”
Similarly to White with his UFC-model in boxing, Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions have launched a take over of women’s boxing in recent months, signing most of the major stars in the women’s game. However, signing with MVP was never an option for McCann.
“I didn't speak to them, I just wanted to go with Eddie,” she said. “I think MVP is doing brilliant work for women in sport, but I'm at a part in my life where I've got businesses in the city [Liverpool], I'm trying to settle down my life, I'm on a way to start having kids with my partner, so it's like what works best for me actually, and what's more safe for me? And someone who I trust, who I know, has got a tried and tested version, what's the word? He's tried and battled tested, he knows how to make champions, and he can take them there in the UK, and if I want to go abroad, then I've got my visa to do that. So it's just like, it makes sense for me. I know the Matchroom staff, I’m friends with them, it's like how the UFC was for me. I don't want to always have to fight in America, and lose 40 per cent or 50 per cent of my wages to tax over there, then giving your money out, and it's just a lot.”
