Last month, Conor McGregor gobbled up headlines when he announced on Twitter he was done fighting in UFC. However, McGregor has retired before and there was no shortage of people who think that his latest departure is temporary if not a negotiation tactic. Dana White subscribes to this theory and is confident that we’ll see Mcgregor back in UFC’s Octagon soon enough.
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During an interview with Game On, White explained that McGregor’s retirement may have been more to get his attention than to actually end a career. Because of this, White expects to have a chat with the Irishman about his future.
“I think that there are some things that Conor wants and I think that Conor wants to get together face-to-face, he and I, and we will in the next couple of weeks,” White said. “We’ll get this thing figured out.”
White says that McGregor has been eyeing partial ownership of UFC since he’s returned to the organization, but to White, that’s too much of an ask.
“He’s stuck on this thing,” White said. “Michael Jordan didn’t own a piece of (the NBA). Is Conor very valuable to the sport and the brand? Of course. But I think there are other ways that we can make him happy.”
“The UFC is gonna be here long after Conor McGregor, long after Dana White and long after anybody else.”
White has significantly changed his turn since McGregor’s retirement. Upon hear the news, White tweeted his initial reaction to ESPN’s Bret Okamoto
“He has the money to retire and his whiskey is KILLIN it. It totally makes sense. If I was him I would retire too.
He’s retiring from fighting. Not from working. The Whiskey will keep him busy and I’m sure he has other things he’s working on
He has been so fun to watch!!! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the octagon as he was in it,” wrote White.
Despite being retired, McGregor took a few shots at his last opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov, some of which have been deleted, but McGregor posted the following on Wednesday:
“Wow another dagestani caught abusing steroids,” McGregor wrote. “That’s 2 out of 3 in this picture busted for steroid abuse, with the most recent being busted 3 times in a row (Magomedov) and now hit with a lifetime ban.”
