UFC president Dana White said he thinks Conor McGregor’s career in the Octagon might be over.
This is a change from earlier this month when the company was still hopeful the lightweight champion (21-3) would return at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, but that fell through. Though the two sides are in the process of negotiating a new deal, McGregor is not expected to fight again in 2017.
“We were working on a fight for him at the end of the year, and he’s just not ready,” White told reporters Tuesday. “We’re still in that ‘Conor might never fight again’ [phase]. The guy’s got a f—ing $100 million. I’ve got guys who have made less than that, who were lawyers their whole lives and quit working … And fighting is the worst. Try to get up and get punched in the face for a living when you’ve got $100 million in the bank.”
Since his fight with Mayweather, McGregor has been in the headlines for bad behavior, including an incident in which he pushed a referee at an event in Dublin.
White said he was concerned about McGregor’s antics since the Mayweather fight.
“Conor is a rich kid, who is a god in Ireland,” White said. “That’s not the healthiest environment.”
White also said he is not willing to wait forever for McGregor to make a decision on his future but wouldn’t talk about stripping him of his title — yet.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to run this business with or without anybody,” White said. “If Conor wants to fight again, we absolutely want Conor to come back. But if Conor walks away and doesn’t fight again, it’s part of the game.
“We need to figure that out. Right now, with him, it’s not about defend or vacate. We’re working on a new deal with him. We’ve got to work out this new deal.”