Dana White Defends Rift With Conor McGregor Amid Rumors of Strained Relationship With UFC Star Taking Center Stage – “He’s Been a Great Partner…”

Dana White has recently been busy clearing the air surrounding his relationship with Conor McGregor. The Irish MMA icon has been absent from the Octagon since an injury he suffered in 2021 in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier. While his return was originally scheduled to be against Michael Chandler after the TUF 31 season last year, delays due to McGregor’s testing status led to the fight having no concrete date so far.

But the Irishman recently shook up the MMA world when he proclaimed in an ESPN interview, “It’s all systems go. The Mac; The Notorious will be returning to the UFC Octagon this summer.” Despite the UFC and Dana White not confirming McGregor’s revelation as of now, the UFC boss did take the time to clarify the relationship between him and the Irish superstar in a recent podcast appearance.

Dana White confesses his admiration and respect for Conor McGregor

UFC CEO Dana White recently addressed rumors about his relationship with Conor McGregor, asserting there’s no cause for concern. In his appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast, White was asked, “What’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of your relationship with Conor?”

He promptly replied by stating, “There’s no ugly. Conor McGregor has been an incredible partner to work with. Everybody thinks that Conor…if Conor showed up to things on time, there wouldn’t be one f***ing bad thing I could say about Conor, you know what I mean?”

While acknowledging McGregor’s occasional tardiness as his only flaw, White strongly emphasized that McGregor’s commitment to fighting was unwavering. 

He revealed, “…let me tell you what Conor McGregor never did. He never walked in a room and said, ‘Conor this guy just fell out, we want you to fight this guy. And he was like, ‘No way I’m not taking this f**king risk. I’m at this point in my career where my money, my this, my that.’ He was like, ‘F**k it, let’s do it.’ You know, he’d always say, ‘Let’s do it.’”

And so, White praised McGregor’s willingness to accept challenging fights without hesitation, showcasing his dedication to the sport. 

He also commended McGregor for never making unreasonable demands for additional compensation by stating, “Yeah, I’ll do it, but I’m gonna need another f**king 200,000, I’m gonna need another million dollars’ Conor McGregor never did that kind of chicken sh*t, you know bullsh*t kind of stuff, he never did any of that. Conor was as solid a guy as you could possibly work with.”

These statements reaffirm McGregor’s importance to the UFC and also align with White’s comments from another recent interview where he dispelled the rumors of a communication gap between the promotion and arguably, its biggest star! 

White clears the air on “miscommunication” reports between him and McGregor

Conor McGregor and Dana White have been on the same page despite what the online fandom might have thought. Recently, the UFC boss made an appearance on the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo where he shut down claims that were floating around online concerning a rift in communication between ‘The Notorious’ and the UFC.

White stated, “There’s no lack of communication. Not at all”. He further explained that McGregor’s obligations with the promotional tour for ‘Road House’ had led to the Irishman being out of training camp.

He also revealed that “Conor needed this time to take off, handle his obligations, and now, once this is over, he can get back into full-time training — which means from Thursday on, we can start talking about fights for Conor.”

While McGregor has recently proclaimed that his return is being worked on for the summer, White didn’t provide any concrete dates for the fight. But he did indicate that the Irishman’s massive success outside the cage may impact his return and training as he confessed, “Once you start to make a lot of money, you’re not as hungry as you were before and it is harder to get in the gym.”

In conclusion, despite uncertainties surrounding McGregor’s comeback, White’s comments reassure fans that their relationship remains solid and adds more intrigue to the long-awaited announcement about ‘The Notorious’s return to the Octagon!

What do you think about the relationship between Dana White and Conor McGregor? And do you think there will be an announcement for his return date soon? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 

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