Dana White gives an update on Conor McGregor’s status in the UFC.
In a recent interview with CNN, UFC president Dana White doubled down on his comments that Conor McGregor will not be retiring from combat sports.
Last month, McGregor posted a cryptic tweet about retirement but then backtracked a couple of weeks later when he teased of a rematch with undefeated Russian, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds.
All faiths challenge us to be our best selves.
It is one world and one for all ??
Now see you in the Octagon.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 4, 2019
According to White, who claims to be in daily contact with McGregor, ‘The Notorious’ will definitely return to the Octagon in the near future.
“Conor McGregor will fight again,” White confirmed. “Me and Conor communicate every day. We’ve been talking all this week. Things are good with Conor and I and we’ll get something figured out soon.
”Conor likes to be in a position where he holds the cards and he does what he wants to do. And, you know, he and I figure out how to work together and how to make it all happen.”
McGregor has come under fire for his inactivity and seeming disinterest in competition, having only fought three times in the past three years and not having officially won a fight since 2016, when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to capture the lightweight title at UFC 205.
White however affirmed that, despite losing in back-to-back fights to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Nurmagomedov, the former two-division champion is still ‘very much relevant and very much in the game.’
“He lost to the greatest boxer, arguably of all time, in a boxing match,” White explained. “Conor, was [in] his first boxing match and he did really really well. [He] earned a lot of respect from people from that fight.
”Then, the next fight that he lost was [against] Khabib, who is the champion, undefeated and the best guy in the world right now. So, it’s not like he lost to some guys that were eight-nine-ten. He lost to two of the best in the world in their sports. So, yes, Conor McGregor is still very much relevant and very much in the game.”
McGregor is still without an opponent but White teased of an MMA fight versus Floyd Mayweather or a possible rematch with Nurmagomedov.
“I’ll do that fight this Saturday if they want to do that one,” he said of a rematch between McGregor and Floyd under MMA rules. “Yeah, if Floyd wants to fight in the octagon, we’ll do it 100 percent.
”I think that that fight is a possibility some day in the octagon. Listen, after making the first fight, I never say never anymore.
”And, obviously I think everybody would like to see the fight with him and Khabib again.”