Dana White dismisses Sean Strickland’s Jai Opetaia callout and names massive name as boxer’s potential next fight

Dana White is not a fan of seeing UFC fighters making the switch to boxing – and Sean Strickland is no different.

Amid an ongoing contractual row with the promotion over money, Strickland has claimed that he would rather take on boxing. He even noted that he would be happy to come to Zuffa Boxing and take on their world champion Jai Opetaia.

It would appear, though, that White has much different plans for the New Zealander that don’t include a crossover fight. Instead, he expects the cruiserweight champion to make his long-awaited move to heavyweight to face Deontay Wilder in December.

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Dana White responds to Sean Strickland’s boxing callout

During Friday night’s Power Slap event, Dana White joined Nina Drama for a chat on her Kick stream. He answered a number of questions, and was even asked about Sean Strickland’s interest in facing boxing champion Jai Opetaia.

He noted that he “doesn’t think it ever goes good crossing over to boxing from MMA,” before admitting that “Strickland is a tough guy who has hands”. When Nina asked if that meant there was a chance, White dismissed the idea altogether.

Aside from 2017 when he helped to promote Conor McGregor’s move into the ring against Floyd Mayweather, White has remained consistent with his stance against MMA fighters crossing over into boxing.

Instead, he suggested that Opetaia might instead fight on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard. His opponent would be hard-hitting former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder, whose manager confirmed interest in the bout earlier in the day.