White wants McGregor-Aldo, Nurmagomedov-Alvarez
White says he plans to have Alvarez defend his belt against Nurmagomedov, and McGregor to defend his belt against Aldo. Nurmagomedov says he has signed two contracts to fight Alvarez: one for UFC 205 in New York in November and another to fight him at UFC 206 in Toronto in December. However, Alvarez wants to fight McGregor, and McGregor appears to want to fight Alvarez. Reports of a McGregor injury affecting the fight are dismissed by White:
Conor’s foot is hurt, but he thinks he can fight. I want him to fight Aldo.
Nurmagomedov:
Alvarez wants to fight McGregor, because it’s an easy fight and it’s a lot of money to fight him. But he has to fight me. Dana White has told me, ‘He is fighting you. He has to fight you.’ His record is only 2-1 in the UFC and he loses like a chicken to Cowboy [Cerrone]. How did he even get a title shot? I don’t know why he is so scared to fight me…I would have to be careful in the first [round] because he does punch hard. In the second, I would start to catch him and in the third, I’d finish him. Mentally, he’s already lost to me…All I want is 25 minutes in the cage with Alvarez…Put me in a cage somewhere with him and lock the door. Then I can show the world who the best really is.
‘Beg me’
McGregor leaves a cryptic message after White denies that his next fight will be with Alvarez.
Beg me
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 21, 2016
White: McGregor not fighting at UFC 205
In response to a fan question on Twitter, White says UFC 205 will feature Alvarez vs Nurmagomedov, not McGregor. No official statement has been released by White or the UFC regarding McGregor or Aldo’s next fight as of yet.
not true it's @TeamKhabib
— danawhite (@danawhite) September 21, 2016
White: No more McGregor welterweight fights
When asked whether a third fight between McGregor and Nate Diaz was likely to happen, White says:
I made that fight twice. That’s it. It’s time to move on because (McGregor) has the 145-pound title. At the end of the day, he’s a 145-pound fighter. He could go to (lightweight), but going back up to 170 makes absolutely no sense, and it clogs up the entire division, which isn’t fair to the rest of the crew.
White: McGregor won’t be stripped of title
White says that McGregor will not be stripped of his 145-pound belt.
He’s not gonna get stripped. He’s gonna make a decision. He knows that the Nate Diaz fight isn’t the fight to make right now. He has to either defend his title or give it up and decide what he wants to do next.
He also says he is satisfied with McGregor-Diaz at UFC 202:
Think about this, Pacquiao-Mayweather, the build up for that fight, everything else. That fight didn’t live up to the hype and I think, more importantly, it left a really bad taste in people’s mouths. I don’t think that was the case for Diaz-McGregor [2]. With the amount of people that were pulled in to watch that fight, everybody left satisfied and those are the kind of fights that make you want to come back and watch again.
White: Rousey will eclipse McGregor
White says Rousey’s return will topple all UFC pay-per-view records set by McGregor, including his UFC 196 fight with Nate Diaz that raked in 1.5 million PPV buys and an estimated million-plus buys estimated for UFC 202.
I think that Ronda Rousey’s return will be the biggest pay-per-view we’ve ever done…If you had told me 15 years ago that women would be fighting in the UFC – and if you told me that women would be as technically sound as the men and the fights would be loved by millions of people all over the world and it’d be the hottest thing going on in the UFC – I would have never believed it.
Video: White tells McGregor to go to hospital
McGregor’s boxing coach releases video of McGregor from inside the SBG changing room, including McGregor’s walk out, his corner discussing the score before the official announcement, and McCarthy having an in-depth discussion with the featherweight champion moments before the fight. When White enters the dressing room after the fight and tells McGregor that ‘he’s gotta go to the hospital,’ McGregor replies:
I’ll have a shower, put on a suit, speak to the media and then I’ll go. I’m honestly grand.
White: No trilogy fight
White says he does not want McGregor to fight again Diaz again in a “trilogy” fight. Instead he wants McGregor to defend his title against interim champ Aldo. He says McGregor has two options — either fight Aldo or surrender his title to him — or cut weight to 155 and fight Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.
The war was fun and super successful but I’m movin’ on.
White: Trilogy fight isn’t happening ‘right now’
White says a third meeting between McGregor and Diaz isn’t going to happen right away.
We’re definitely not doing this a third time right now. I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t want to see this fight again, but Conor’s either going to go defend his title or give his title up and then we’ll figure out where to go from there. Conor has to defend his title or make a decision to give it up or whatever he wants to do. I don’t know. I gotta sit down and see what’s next.
White: An ‘epic fight’
White appears on ESPN to talk about McGregor-Diaz UFC 2o2.
It lived up to all my expectations, and exceeded it. I didn’t see that fight going five rounds, but it did. One minute it looked like Conor was gassed, and he got a second wind. Diaz got dropped a couple of times, looked like he was done, and he came back. It’s an absolute epic fight. [Conor] did what I thought he might do. He was chopping that leg. I thought he would go to the body a lot more.
On a third fight:
Well Connor has to defend his title or give it up…If I was Conor I would defend my title.
White: McGregor, Diaz facing penalties for water bottle fight
White says that McGregor and Diaz may be sued, and may also face penalties for their water bottle fight. The Nevada State Athletic Commission will be in charge of issuing discipline.
The word is that in this thing, somebody was injured. So, there’s gonna be a lawsuit…Who knows how it’s gonna play out…I guarantee both of these guys are gonna get massive fines, and there’s probably going to be a hearing after the fight…[McGregor and Diaz] could be (facing) suspensions, community service, it’s gonna be ugly. … It’s going to cost them both a lot of money, a lot of headache and hassle. They’re both in big trouble.
UFC 202 Press Conference Water Bottle fight
White introduces the UFC 202 fighters, however McGregor does not appear for over 17 minutes. After a few minutes Diaz and his entourage leaves for the door, while his team shouts insults at McGregor, who responds:
Shut your f-king mout. Shut your mouth. You’ll do nothin’. Not one of yous will do nothin’.
After Diaz throws a water bottle towards McGregor, he responds by throwing a couple of bottles towards Diaz. White then closes the press conference.
https://www.facebook.com/976382459102636/videos/vb.976382459102636/1127367424004138/
UFC 202 Pre-fight Press Conference
White will introduce McGregor, Diaz, Johnson and Teixeira at the UFC Pre-fight Press Conference. Starting 1pm PT/ 4pm ET/ 9pm GMT.
McGregor, Diaz face off
McGregor and Diaz face off after the Tickets On-Sale Press Conference. McGregor asks White to let them go face-to-face, but White keeps them apart. McGregor:
Let’s go face to face. I wanna see his eyes.
https://www.facebook.com/danawhite/videos/824124121023103/
UFC 202 Tickets On-Sale press conference
White, McGregor and Diaz appear at the UFC 202 Tickets On-Sale Press Conference.
Praises McGregor’s willingness to fight
White praises McGregor’s willingness to fight any opponent.
Conor McGregor doesn’t give a shit. I’ve been doing this for 16 years – I know who says yes, who says no, and Conor says no to nothing…People say I kiss his ass and do all this other stuff for him, but I f-cking respect the guy, who when you walk into his living room, he’s just waking up, eleven days before his fight, and he’s been training for a certain weight and certain opponent. I said: ‘These are the three options’. He says: ‘I’m going to train, let me know which one takes it’. I’ve dealt with very few men and women who say that.
Diaz slaps White
Diaz posts video to Instagram of him slapping White, saying.
Getting deals done today.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGQJYQVOPpo/
White waiting for Mayweather call
White says that he’s still waiting on Mayweather to call him.
People hit me up and say, ‘Did you see Floyd just posted a poster of them squared off and said they’re fighting in September?’ and this and that. Listen, I don’t care what Floyd says. There’s only one way this fight’s happening (and that’s) through me. Floyd’s got to call me. Floyd and I haven’t talked. Here’s the reality: I haven’t talked to Floyd Mayweather once. If you look at how long and how hard it took to get the (Manny) Pacquaio (vs. Mayweather) fight done, that’s the same sport. I don’t know what (Mayweather’s) angle is on this thing with Conor McGregor, but he’s not fighting Conor McGregor without calling me. It’s not going to happen.
White looking at other fights for McGregor
In an interview on FOX Sports 1’s The Herd, White says the UFC has begun looking at alternative opponents for McGregor’s next fight after unsuccessfully trying to reach a deal with Diaz.
It’s just madness. It’s just been tough. It’s been a tough go-through, so we’re looking at another fight for Conor right now and we’ll see how this thing comes together. But Conor is just so obsessed with Diaz at 170, it’s been crazy. The reality is that since that Conor McGregor fight — obviously when you win a fight of that magnitude, it has definitely rubbed off on Nate. People do want to see Nate fight. People do want to see this fight again, and I’m one of those guys who, I want to make the fight that people want to see, and I believe people do want to see this fight. But, people do want to see Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar or Jose Aldo again too. I’m sure they would want to see him fight Rafael dos Anjos at 155 for that title, so there’s a lot of fights out there for Conor, if we can’t get this Nate fight done.
White: McGregor ‘obsessed’ with fighting Diaz
In an interview with ESPN’s Sportscenter, White says that he is working on McGregor-Diaz matchup.
We’re working on what’s next for him. We’re trying to set up a fight right now. It’s been a little challenging. Obviously the fight he would love to do is the rematch with Nate Diaz. I’m trying to get the deal done…Conor is obsessed with this rematch. I don’t know why, but he is. It’s just his type of personality. He’s obsessed with it. He’s obsessed with fighting Diaz again – at 170 pounds. I don’t know if [the fight] will ever happen, but I’m trying.
