Dana White Turns Down Conor McGregor's Request To Own Piece Of UFC

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor surprised many when he announced his retirement earlier this week. But one person not shocked by the decision was UFC president Dana White.

White, in an interview with TMZ Sports, explained that "Notorious" messaged him recently about a desire to get in on being "the boss" inside the UFC by staking a claim to a piece of ownership.

"He went back and said I feel like I should own a piece of the company," White said. "I said, 'Conor, you know that's never going to happen.' That was a couple weeks ago."

McGregor, who is also currently under investigation in his native home of Ireland for sexual assault, posted on social media that he was done with mixed martial arts. In 2017, he took on Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, returning to the Octagon last year and falling to reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"If you want to own a piece of the company, you'd have to put up the money to buy a piece," White said. "That's how it works. These are all parts of negotiation. If you wanted to buy into the UFC right now, the valuation is pretty high."