Dana White Opens Up About Conor McGregor And UFC 200
Dana White recently opened up about his relationship with Conor McGregor — and what the foreseeable future will bring for the fighter — after a slew of rumors hit the Web regarding a clash over UFC 200.
The organization’s president says that he and McGregor are as good as ever despite McGregor’s refusal to come to the U.S. and promote his fight against Nate Diaz. The decision led to Conor being pulled from the event, which in turn led to a bit of confusion regarding his next move. Over the last few weeks, rumors have been flying that Dana White had rescheduled Conor for a fight, and the MMA star fueled the fire by taking to Twitter to announce that he would be on the ticket for UFC 200.
Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200!
Shout out to @danawhite and @lorenzofertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 25, 2016
Conor McGregor also said on Twitter that while everyone else flew in to do promotion for the UFC last month, they can’t claim the earning power that he can. Conor allegedly didn’t want to leave Iceland at the time, where he was training.
Everyone flew in. Respect.
But not everyone up there made the company 400million in 8 months.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 22, 2016
Dana White told TMZ shortly afterward that he had no idea what Conor was talking about and that he would not be fighting at UFC 200.
“It’s not true. We haven’t talked to Conor or his manager since the press conference. I don’t know why he would tweet that. All the media keeps asking me that. I feel like the scene in ‘Step Brothers’ when they ask if they can build the bunk beds. I don’t know how many more times I can say the fight is off or how many more press conferences I can have saying the fight is off for people to believe it’s off,” Dana White said. “We pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 and we’re working on other fights right now. Conor did not want to come to Las Vegas and film the commercial and be a part of the marketing. He’s in Iceland training. Is Conor retiring? Only he can answer that question. I don’t know.”
Of course, no matter what was really said between the two of them, it can’t be denied that Conor McGregor has enormous earning potential and is a huge draw for the UFC. Dana recently said on the Dan Patrick Show that he and Conor are fine and that the fighter is prepared to get back in the ring even if UFC 200 isn’t his match.
“The thing that has made Conor McGregor a massive star and why people love him … this kid loves to fight. He’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. He goes in and goes for broke. His fights are exciting and fun leading up to them, during them, and after them. McGregor is ready to fight,” White said.
The newest rumor to float around about McGregor is that he’ll be fighting Floyd Mayweather. Dana White said in that same interview that nothing had been confirmed, but that if there’s interest between the two parties, he wants to oversee it. Floyd himself noted that it could be more than a rumor but didn’t come right out and say that the fight is scheduled, leaving fans to wonder once again what the near future holds for one of the sport’s biggest stars.
“It’s possible…it was a name that was shot at me…the rumors that y’all been hearing is the rumors that I started…it may not be a rumor…keep y’all fingers crossed…it may be a boxer versus an MMA fighter,” Mayweather said.
(Photo by Jayne Russell/Getty Images)
