Dana White appears to have made a remarkable U-turn in his stance on Conor McGregor's mooted mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather.

Negotiations between the 'Notorious' and the undefeated American boxer had been at an impasse with the UFC president claiming there was more chance of him starting the Superbowl as back-up quarterback.

He had even claimed a deal without the UFC's involvement would be 'the stupidest thing ever' but has changed tack and will no longer stand in McGregor's way.

UFC president Dana White now says he will not stand in Conor McGregor's way

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have spoken of their desire for a fight for months

White told UFC Tonight: 'It doesn’t make a lot of sense for my business, but I would never keep Conor from making that kind of money.

'He obviously has a lot of opportunities right now. Tony Ferguson is out there, the Floyd Mayweather thing is out there, we’ll see how this thing plays out.'

White also told Conan O'Brian: 'There’s so much money involved. I just don’t see how it doesn’t happen.'

The softening of White's stance could now open the door for a deal to be finalised as both fighters remain keen on agreeing terms.

McGregor has been taking time away from competition since his victory at UFC 205

Mayweather has publicly stated his desire to take on the charismatic Dubliner and noted the UFC star is the only man who will tempt him out of retirement.

McGregor has pushed for the contest for months despite taking time off to be with his long-term partner Dee Devlin ahead of the birth of their first child.

The waters have been muddied in the lightweight division by Khabib Nurmagomedov's failure to make weight at UFC 209.

The undefeated American boxer said he would come out of retirement to face McGregor

Nurmagomedov was scheduled to take on Tony Ferguson in what would have effectively been a title eliminator fight to face McGregor but the Dagestani was hospitalised at the 11th hour and the bout cancelled.

With the interim title fight called off, McGregor's hopes of facing Mayweather have improved and White's remarkably softened approach could pave the way for one of the biggest fights of all time.