With all the moving pieces of the Mayweather-McGregor, it’s not surprising that there were a few hiccups in putting the show together. Speaking to the media this week, Dana White unveiled one of them – Showtime, who are putting on the fight, simply didn’t have anyone to sing the Irish national anthem at the event. Instead, they left the matter to Dana White and the UFC.
Speaking to the press (via MMA Fighting), White said that “Showtime basically popped it on us two days ago. ‘You guys have to… What do you mean we have to? This is your show!'”
That resulted in a last minute scramble to find a suitable singer for what could be the biggest combat sports event of all time. “I was trying to call Ireland at all the wrong times and all this stuff” White explained. “We called Bono first.”
Unfortunately, the U2 singer had other obligations. “He said he wanted to do it, but he had a wedding this weekend.”
Ultimately, White did find someone to take on the responsibility, though he’s mum on who exactly it is, saying it would be announced at a later date. Even getting someone on such short notice, however, was lucky, according to the UFC President.
“You can’t call somebody like these guys with three days notice. We’re very lucky that we pulled this off.”
