Dana White vetoed an exhibition boxing match between former UFC star Georges St-Pierre and now-retired boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, Triller co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh claimed.
According to Kavanaugh, both St-Pierre and De La Hoya had agreed to share the boxing ring in an exhibition match hosted by Triller Fight Club. The Triller boss claimed White and the UFC blocked 'GSP' from fighting De La Hoya after his contract was frozen.
Kavanaugh added that he repeatedly tried getting in touch with White, but the UFC president wouldn't answer his calls.
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During the press conference of the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight, De La Hoya stated he will make his boxing comeback on July 3 against an opponent whose name was not revealed.
According to Bloody Elbow, 'The Golden Boy' was indeed negotiating a contract with Georges St-Pierre, and the two legends would have fought each other if White hadn't vetoed the fight.
GSP's last fight in the UFC was against Michael Bisping in 2017. Two years later, he announced his retirement with an active UFC contract, which prompted the promotion to freeze his contract.
Meanwhile, De La Hoya hasn't stepped into the boxing ring since 2008. His last boxing clash was opposite Manny Pacquiao, which he lost via TKO in the eighth round.
The UFC also blocked a Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov superfight in 2019
According to Georges St-Pierre, the UFC didn't want him to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov either. The French-Canadian revealed that he was willing to challenge Nurmagomedov back in 2019, but the UFC shut down the door on that fight by claiming they had "other plans" for the Dagestani fighter.
"That fight (against Nurmagomedov), I wanted to happen. Khabib wanted to happen. But UFC didn't want to happen. The UFC was clear - they said they have other plans for Khabib. And it makes sense from a business standpoint because they want to keep the ball rolling," said St-Pierre.
Georges St-Pierre is considered one of the greatest fighters in the history of the UFC. The 39-year-old won the UFC welterweight title in 2006 and defended the belt on nine more occasions.