Dana White never felt truly confident that Conor McGregor would fight again, but it had nothing to do with the injury that knocked McGregor out of UFC 303 on June 29.
While details about the injury and how long McGregor may be sidelined remain a mystery, the UFC CEO said he never counts on some superstars to fight again after amassing a huge fortune and already establishing themselves as all-time legends. White already questioned if McGregor would return after he suffered a gruesome broken leg back in 2021, and this latest injury hasn’t subsided his concerns at all.
“That’s a great question,” White told Jim Rome when asked if perhaps we’ve seen the last of McGregor already. “Conor’s going to be 36 in July. He’s got plenty of money. I don’t ever think that guys like that, Jon Jones, who knows, maybe he’ll fight again, maybe he won’t. Conor McGregor, maybe he’ll fight again, maybe he won’t. You never know with some of the guys that get to that level. You never know if you’re ever going to see them again.
“The other thing with getting older … you get injured a lot easier, you get hurt a lot easier. More injuries happen than did when you were younger, and you’re less willing to step in there with an injury than when you were young and hungry and broke.”
As disappointing as it was to lose McGregor’s return fight at UFC 303, White didn’t sound all that surprised, because that’s just the nature of the business.
It’s another reason why White said he doesn’t stress himself out too much when it comes to guys like McGregor fighting or not.
“It happens,” White said. “The thing with me is, once I start to get these guys that are older, you get the guys that have cemented their legacies and make their money and done their things, the Jon Jones, the Conor McGregors, these guys, I’m never very optimistic as it is. Listen, I’m in the fight business. I’ve got to put on fights every Saturday. When those type of guys show up, it’s fun, but I run the business.”
White did shoot down any conspiracy theory that perhaps McGregor wasn’t really injured, but instead was seeking a better UFC contract before fighting again. McGregor has openly stated that he only has two fights left on his current UFC deal and that talks had started on reaching an agreement on an extension, although nothing has ever been finalized.
“I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again, Conor McGregor has never done that,” White said. “Conor McGregor never leads up to a fight and tries to renegotiate his contract or get more money. He’s never done anything even remotely close to that. He is as solid as solid can be when it comes to being a business partner.
“Conor McGregor is hurt right now. It’s absolutely real. No, he’s never done anything like that.”
With McGregor out again for an undetermined amount of time, that leaves his opponent Michael Chandler stuck in limbo once again.
Chandler hasn’t fought since November 2022, largely because he accepted a coaching opportunity opposite McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter 31 under the guise that they would eventually meet in the octagon.
Now, Chandler is still waiting nearly two years later, and this latest setback from McGregor puts him in the unenviable position of deciding if he should finally give up on the fight or continue to put his career on pause.
“I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor,” White said. “Whatever he wants to do. If he wants to get a fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever worked with.
“He’s a good human being and I like him a lot. Whatever he wants to do, we’ll figure out for him.”
