Midnight Mania! Dana White says McGregor may never fight again

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Which is it, Dana?
The UFC president tried to answer how the UFC was punishing McGregor for his antics at Bellator 187, where he slapp…

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Which is it, Dana?

The UFC president tried to answer how the UFC was punishing McGregor for his antics at Bellator 187, where he slapped an official and shoved a referee. He started off with the company line that McGregor had been dropped from a planned bout at UFC 219… then revealed the truth that McGregor simply wasn’t going to be ready for that date. Transcript via MMAJunkie.com:

“Listen, the punishment, he was being dealt with by the head of the (Association of Boxing Commissions), and we were going to fight him, regardless of what (McGregor manager) Audie (Attar) says,” White said. “We were working on a fight for him at the end of the year, and he’s just not ready.”

Then Dana White admitted that at this stage of negotiations, he’s not even sure McGregor will ever fight again. (Transcript by me)

Listen, we’re still in that, “Conor might not ever fight again.” Guy’s got a f***ing 100 million dollars! You know? I’ve got guys that made less than that, and were lawyers, and went to school their whole life and quit working. Right? When you go to school your whole life to be a lawyer, and you’re a good lawyer, you make a few bucks, and you’re done. The guy is sitting at home every day watching cartoons or whatever he’s doing, I don’t know. Joe Silva doesn’t work any more. These guys make money and that’s it.

Fighting’s the worst. Try getting up and getting punched in the face every day when you’ve got 100 million dollars in the bank. You know? Money changes everything, with a lot of people. We’ll see.

Every time you talk to Conor, you don’t know… who knows? He’s a… he’s a very unique individual. I love the kid. I love the kid, man. I think he’s fun, he’s definitely… when you look at all the money Conor’s made… there’s guys that always bitch about money, I should have more money. Conor can’t be paid enough money. Conor’s worth every penny and more.

And the other thing with the Bellator thing. He’s a young rich kid who’s a god in Ireland. That’s not the healthiest environment either. It’s all part of… I don’t know if you guys remember in the very beginning, with Jon Jones, there’s no doubt the talent was there. I used to go, ‘the guy is talented, but he’s young, he’s rich, he’s the king of the world right now. Hopefully he can keep it together’, and that was way before all the crazy shit started happening. And there it is… it happens. What’s weird is it happens more in this sport, in fighting, in the fighting business, than in any other sport.

He went on to discuss the people surrounding McGregor, his philosophy on fighting, and a host of other issues. He said he knew before the fight with Mayweather that Conor might never fight again. He said McGregor’s not actually that difficult to deal with, except for showing up late. He included this gem about Tony Ferguson:

So that’s fun.

Insomnia

Some other highlights from Dana White’s scrum today:

Nate Diaz is not going to risk the money of the third McGregor fight for a bout that nets him less than half what he would make against the Irishman.

Will Joanna Jedrzejczyk get an immediate rematch?

Of course he would

Commentary on that Tony Ferguson remark:

McGregor in the new UFC game:

He’s not just the face of the fight game anymore, he’s the face of the selling used cars game too #EAUFC

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Alastair Overeem is going to be game planning not to be hit by Francis Ngannou’s record-setting power

I’d do the same thing tbh, but I stand by this meme none the less

A post shared by COMBAT SPORTS / MARTIAL ARTS (@thestranglesquad) on

Meisha Tate continues the hustle

Justin Gaethje vs. Eddie Alvarez is going to be bonkers

“I don’t want to win. I want to put on a show. I want to be the most violent lightweight in the world.” – @justin_gaethje

A post shared by As Shopped As It Gets (@as_shopped_as_it_gets_) on

I have to think Gaethje’s leg kicks will be relevant if this fight goes any length of time

Looks like there is a gap between the sales pitch and the reality here

Max Holloway pulling a Cowboy Cerrone before his headlining bout with Jose Aldo at UFC 218

Snapchat rules

Remember when Lorenzo Fertitta thought he was direct messaging ring girl Chrissy Blair but he was actually just tweeting her? I didn’t.

Khabib Nurmagomedov sweeping mats

Stay Humble @khabib_nurmagomedov and even when he wins @ufc Gold Humble he will stay

A post shared by Javier Mendez (@akajav) on

Young Daniel Cormier

Podcasts and Video

Max Holloway’s kick defense

UFC 218 Beer Pairing suggestion

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