White: McGregor is the definition of ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter
White says McGregor is underrated as a pound-for-pound fighter.
Conor is a very talented fighter, he’s very, very good. Every time he goes out there, he looks better. And when you talk about the pound-for-pound, they don’t have Conor McGregor as the pound-for-pound. The media does the ratings. When you talk about what the pound-for-pound really means, how is it not Conor McGregor? The guy was the ’45-pound champion, ’55-pound champion, and beat a guy at 170. That’s what pound-for-pound really means.
White: McGregor-Mayweather fight will ‘never happen’
White says McGregor and Mayweather will not fight.
Well there’s a lot of talk going on about this now. But let’s look at it this way. If they really fought, it would be ugly. It would be ugly for Floyd. Conor has more weapons and tools than Floyd Mayweather does…If they were to box, look at Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather. It was a fight that everyone wanted to see for years. It took almost 10 years to make that fight and they are the same sport. There’s no way this fight would ever happen.
Rousey: McGregor took the weight off my shoulders
Rousey says that White originally wanted her to headline at UFC 205, but that McGregor headlining that fight allowed her to have a break and to focus on the upcoming fight with Amanda Nunes.
Conor gave me the chance to rest, he took the weight off my shoulders, and for that I’m grateful. I will never put my body at risk for money and views ever again. What makes me happy is winning and being the best in the world and that’s it. Fuck all the promotion and energy spent on anything that’s not me winning. And anyone who tries to tell me I owe them energy on frivolous shit during camp out of ‘loyalty’ or ‘friendship’ deserves no loyalty from me and is no friend of mine. This is not a time for f-cking favors. This is a time for redemption and revenge.
White: McGregor will be on Game of Thrones
White confirms McGregor will appear on Game of Thrones (4:30 in video):
I knew that a few months ago that they were interested in putting him in the show. And I’m glad he did it. It’ll be great. I’m excited for him.
https://youtu.be/5McRtt8Dvg8?t=4m29s
White: Mayweather ‘dead serious’ about McGregor fight
White recounts a meeting with 50 Cent in New York:
I was at dinner in New York for 205, and we bumped into each other…When we were leaving he said to me, ‘When’s your boy going to fight Floyd?” and I said “My boy? Who are you talking about, Conor? Floyd doesn’t want to fight Conor.’ And he said, ‘He does. He’s dead serious about it.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know man. Call Floyd and see what’s going on’. So that’s how the whole thing got started up again…Look how long it took [Mayweather-Pacquiao] to get that done and they’re both in the same sport. I highly doubt this fight will ever happen.
White: Rousey in ‘sick shape’
White says Rousey is in great condition:
Yeah. It is exciting. Obviously, the return of Ronda is a big deal. She is taken this thing so seriously. Guess what she is weighing right now? 135 lbs. She is doing everything she can to keep her weight on. She is in sick shape.
White: McGregor will take 10 months off
UFC President White says McGregor gave up his featherweight belt, and will not fight for ten months.
I didn’t strip him of anything. I said every day leading up to that fight that he had to give up one of those belts. He gave up the 145-pound title, but it doesn’t take away from — He says that he’s still a two-weight champion. Damn right he is. He is a two-weight champion. It doesn’t take away from what that guy accomplished and what he’s done. When you look at the 145-pound title, he didn’t lose it. He gave it up. He was never beaten, and the belt was never taken from him…That (featherweight) belt hadn’t been defended in almost a year, and Conor’s taking another ten months off for maternity. It’s not fair to the rest of the guys in that division. You can’t tie up the entire division, but I did let him fight for it. I let him do it.
White: McGregor is ‘still the man at featherweight’
White says that, despite no longer having the title and Jose Aldo currently holding the title, McGregor is still the man to beat at 145lb.
I didn’t strip him of anything you know what I mean? I said everyday leading up to that fight at UFC 205, that McGregor had to give up one of the belts if he won the lightweight title in New York but that doesn’t take away from anything. He says he is still a two-weight world champion and he’s damn right he is. He is a two-weight world champion. It doesn’t take away from anything that he achieved and when it comes to the featherweight title, he didn’t lose it, he is the man at 145-pounds.
White: ‘I have no idea what Conor is doing’
White says that, despite getting a boxing license, McGregor is still under contract to UFC.
I have no idea what Conor is doing. Conor’s Conor. He does his thing. But he’s under contract to me. Who knows with this guy? Who knows what he is up to. I just let Conor be Conor. And the other thing is, it’s fun to talk about this fight and what might happen, but what commission would let that fight happen? Really, think about that.
White: McGregor was not forced to give up belt
White says McGregor decided to give up the featherweight title of his own volition before Aldo was named the division’s undisputed champion.
Look, I let Conor fight [Nate] Diaz and then I let him fight Diaz again. Then there was the whole 155-pound thing I let him do. But at the end of the day, him doing that tied up the division for a year. There’s a logjam there and a lot of guys were [angry]…I wanted Aldo to fight Holloway for the belt, but he needed more time. So I looked at it and I said, Well, it makes sense to make Aldo the champion and then have Holloway and Pettis fight for the interim title, and when Jose’s ready, barring any crazy injuries, the winner can fight him.
Says McGregor won’t fight until after baby born
White confirms McGregor will not fight again until after May 2017. The fighter is not only taking time off for himself, but also for his girlfriend Dee Devlin so she’s not burdened with the stress of another fight while she’s dealing with her first pregnancy.
He won’t fight before May. His girl gets super stressed out when he fights. He doesn’t want her having any of that stress while she’s pregnant…He’s good. He should take time off. He’s been fighting nonstop. Nothing wrong with him taking time off. It’s good for him and her and it’s good for the baby.
White says the UFC will survive without him:
We’ve done this for 16 years, with a lot of big stars who couldn’t fight or moved on – Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre. There’s not a day in this office I don’t get the question, ‘What are we going to do about this guy?’ Every day I turn around, I’ve got a reporter saying we’ve peaked. If I listened to any of that — we probably would be done.
Trash talked McGregor between rounds
In a trailer for The Thrill and the Agony, Nurmagomedov tells Johnson to give up while he is giving him a beating:
You have to give up. I need to fight for the title. You know this. I deserve it
Then he trash talks McGregor to White between rounds.
KH: Hey, be careful. I’m gonna smash your boy.
DW: Just get through this first
UFC 205 generated 14 Billion social media impressions
UFC 205 generated 14 Billion social media impressions, which consist of Facebook likes, Twitter interactions and Instagram shares. By comparison the most recent Superbowl achieved 4.3 billion impressions. While the Euro’s in France earlier this year earned 3 billion.
Will leave UFC if no title shot
Nurmagomedov tells White he will leave the UFC is he does not get a title shot.
I want to fight for @ufc title for respect but if I don't get my title shot next I have different plan I won't be fighting in UFC @danawhite
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 16, 2016
Backs McGregor over Mayweather
White says that McGregor deserves Mayweather’s respect.
Conor McGregor … if he touches you, you go to sleep. Floyd puts people to sleep too, with his fighting style, not with his hands. You know how Floyd knocks people out? When they’re not looking. Watch the Victor Ortiz fight. This kid’s just getting started. This kid’s 28 years old. Floyd can say what he wants about Conor, but even other fighters have to respect him. He’s special. Floyd’s never even come close to doing to other fighters what Conor does.
White: ‘Conor’s special’
At the post-fight press conference White says that he can’t remember what he said to McGregor when he put on the belt. He reaffirms his support for McGregor.
Conor’s special…I’ve never dealt with anyone like this kid. On so many different levels. Nobody has ever walked out of the Octagon and told me they want to turn right around and fight again. He does.
He says that the fight has broken all MMA records, with $17.7 million taken at the gate, from 20,427 tickets sold. He also says the fight broke PPV records.
Jesus is gonna have to fight the devil to break that record.
Post-fight press conference
McGregor and Alvarez will appear at a post-fight press conference live shortly.
Secret service rules out UFC 205 attendance
The Secret Service tells Trump they have security concerns with him attending UFC 205. His son, Donald Trump Jr. attends in his place. White:
Having met President Barack Obama on Thursday, and amidst protests at his election, Trump may swerve the engagement. He’s been a friend of mine for 15, 16 years. I’m happy for him.
Sets MSG gate record
UFC 205 sets a gate record of over $17million (£13.5m). The previous record was set by Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in 1999. White:
I wanted to make sure when we went to New York, we delivered. It’s the biggest, baddest card we’ve ever done in the history of the company.
White: Trump may attend UFC 205
White says Trump told him he would attend UFC 205 if he won the election.
Donald originally told me he that would come to the fight, if he won. I don’t think Donald really realised what his duties were going to be had he won. I think he’s meeting with Obama today and then I don’t know. We’ll see, man. Listen, no pressure to come … but it wouldn’t suck if he came.
He also says the family contacted him after the win.
His family reached out to me that night. I was in my hotel room, you know, watching the results, and they had, they had me come down to the (victory) party. So i went to the party, that night and, they’ve been very good to me, so good luck to him.
