Dana White On Conor McGregor: If Conflict Is About Money, Is McGregor Retired?, Making Amends, More
The MMA world was rocked last night when Conor McGregor abruptly announced his retirement from MMA, and was subsequently pulled from UFC 200.
Dana White appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd this afternoon to talk about the huge decision to remove the UFC's biggest male star from their biggest show of all-time. White said that the issues didn't stem from financial negotiations.
"Never, ever was this about money. Conor makes a lot of money, and Conor is very happy with the money he makes. And Conor, for the most part, is a stand-up guy. He's never come back after agreeing on a deal, and then the fight is announced and he comes back for more money. Conor's not that type of person," White said.
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White was steadfast in saying that the problem between the UFC and McGregor was due to McGregor's unwillingness to fly to Las Vegas to film commercials and promos for UFC 200.
"It's not like I'm asking Conor to do something none of the other fighters are doing," White said "So Conor for whatever reason, he freaked out about this. He's a very reasonable guy. A smart guy, and he likes money. This is weird."
Even though McGregor has been removed from UFC 200, White said that there's still a chance he could fight on the card.
"If he called me after this interview, we could probably still do it," White said on The Herd. "The thing is, you have to be here to promote your fight, and you have to shoot this commercial. We're spending, like, $10 million in promotion for UFC 200, and all that money is in motion. You can't do this. I don't care who you are, or how big you are. You can't do this."
White also says he doesn't think McGregor is truly retired, and hopes that he'll fight within the next year, but doesn't know when they'll speak again. You can see White's full appearance on The Herd above.
You can also check out Wrestling Inc's breaking news podcast on the matter at this link.