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I think we can all agree that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White has put up with a lot of shit from former lightweight champion Conor McGregor, simply because “Notorious” has the Midas touch.
And money comes first in every business relationship.
But then UFC moved its pay-per-view (PPV) cards behind a paywall, coronavirus robbed the Irish superstar of his $18 million gate, and McGregor violated the bro-code by posting private messages from White.
Combined, those factors may have brought an end to the roster’s biggest complaint.
That’s probably why White balked at McGregor’s request to fight Dustin Poirier before year’s end. Both UFC 255 and UFC 256 are already contracted to feature championship title fights and moving them to accommodate “Notorious” is simply not an option.
“We offered him a fight, we got him his own date,” White told ESPN. “We didn’t have a date this year. We have everything laid out for this year, with world champions fighting for titles. He wants to fight Dustin Poirier apparently, so we went to [broadcast partner] ESPN and got him his own date. He’s been offered Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23. It’s a yes or no answer.”
McGregor claims he retired earlier this year after failing to come to terms with UFC on a lightweight comeback. In recent weeks, “Notorious” began teasing a potential charity fight against Poirier to help prepare him for Manny Pacquiao in early 2021.
“We laid out this year,” White continued. “He was retired. Would anybody disagree he was retired? We have our schedule laid out. Fighters have committed to it. Fighters have started training for these fights. Conor came back and wants to fight Dustin, so we went out and got him his own date. It’s Jan. 23.”
Poirier continues to lobby for a 2020 fight but is not married to McGregor and willing to throw hands with former interim champion Tony Ferguson, assuming UFC can come to terms with “The Diamond” (unlike last time).
McGregor has yet to respond.