White rips Showtime over MayMac PPV numbers; Espinoza responds

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Hell hath no fury like that of Dana White's scorn.

The UFC president was none too pleased with how Showtime handled the release of the pay-per-view numbers for Conor McGregor's August boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and not only did he question the veracity of the 4.3-million buyrate for North America revealed in the recent press release, he vowed never to work with the network again.

"Think about this, and I don’t give a s--- about Showtime’s f---ing full of s--- press release they put out - it’s the biggest fight ever. Ever, in combat sports history," White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports on Thursday. "The thing did over 6.7 million buys and if the service didn’t drop, we would have gotten closer to 7 million. It was the biggest event ever. It was the biggest boxing event ever without a boxer, there was only one boxer involved in the fight.

"I still question (the numbers). The way that they handled that press release and what they did - I didn’t trust them before and now I despise those f---ing guys. The Showtime guys, I’ll never work with them again. Ever."

White's claims account for the blockbuster's worldwide take, although its North American totals fell short of the domestic record of 4.6 million owned by Mayweather's 2015 dance with Manny Pacquiao.

The pointed words soon reached the ears of Showtime exec Stephen Espinoza, who played an integral role in bringing the bout from pipe dream to reality, and took the high road in reaction to White's petulance:

McGregor himself couldn't help but chime in with a jab at the man he repeatedly lambasted during the summer's MayMac media tour, appearing to side with White in regards to the fight's haul:

While White and Showtime can't seem to agree on a figure, McGregor certainly lined his coffers for his date with Mayweather, pocketing an estimated $100 million.

- With h/t to MMAWeekly