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Dana White gives an update about Conor McGregor’s situation.
After the UFC 250 broadcast earlier in the month, Conor McGregor surprisingly announced his retirement (again). The Irish superstar revealed that he had issues with the UFC that led to the decision, saying that promotion executives “wanted to show power and stomp all over me” during their conversations about his career.
Dana White was asked for an update his situation, and as far as the UFC President is concerned, McGregor is retired.
“No,” White said when he has had any contact with the former two-division star. “Conor McGregor is retired.
“I don’t chase guys that don’t want to fight. I don’t chase guys. We offer guys three fights a year. You get three fights a year, if you don’t want to fight, I’ve got a roster full of people who want to fight.”
White’s current statements are similar as his initial reaction to the retirement, telling McGregor to “do your thing, and it’s all good.”
McGregor has been by far the biggest draw in UFC history, but with the way the company’s business model is set up now, they have a lot of guaranteed contractual deals in place like the lucrative ESPN deal. This means that they don’t need to heavily rely on gate numbers or PPV buys — and in turn, PPV draws like McGregor — as much as they did in the past.