Outside Source
Speaking with Complex News, the UFC President and CEO discussed a myriad of topics ranging from the oft-discussed UFC White House card to the state of a few divisions—and even briefly shrugged off a question about YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. White did not have many definitive answers, mostly suggesting that upcoming events need to play out to determine who faces whom, when and where.
Advertisement
Of note was a pair of questions about superstar McGregor, who has been on the shelf since breaking his leg in his unsuccessful rubber match with Dustin Poirier in 2021. The Irishman, who has since gotten married and also been the subject of many legal quagmires ranging from being found liable for sexual assault to ongoing investigations about striking various individuals, was once booked for a 2024 match with Michael Chandler that fell through. The two served as coaches on the 31st season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and a foot injury for McGregor knocked him out of that pairing.
While Chandler has since gone on to fight twice more since that canceled bout, he has always sought the McGregor match, regularly calling out “Notorious” and even suggesting at the beginning of the year that the fight was going to happen. White disagreed.
“No, that was a couple years ago,” White answered dismissively about the prospective McGregor-Chandler clash. He reiterated that despite McGregor’s pleas to be part of that event against “Iron Mike,” there is no plan for them to collide.
We’ll See How It Plays Out
“We’ll see if Conor is going to come back or not,” White noted. “We’ve been talking about it for a while. We’ll see how it plays out. I don’t know, though.
White was clear when discussing the White House event that there have been no steps taken for matchmaking, as it is still around five months away. He pitched that the logistics have been figured out, but the rest is a long way out.
“Nothing yet,” White replied when asked if there was anything on the UFC White House marquee yet. “So we literally just got all the logistics done. [There’s] gonna be 5,000 seats in the South Lawn. Fighters will walk from the Oval Office. We got all that s–t dialed in. Now, Jan. 23 is Zuffa Boxing, Jan. 24 is the first UFC, and then after that card we’ll start working on the White House fights.”
He mentioned that there are some reliable fighters worth placing on the card, and stressed that he needs fighters—especially at the championship level—that he can count on to make it to the event and not put their bout at risk. A couple names he felt he could not trust included lightweight Arman Tsarukyan and ex-two-division champ Jon Jones. The latter has been floated as a possible adversary should 205-pound beltholder Alex Pereira move up to heavyweight.
White was uncertain of the weight class, but suggested there was inherent risk in scheduling a Jones fight.
“At 205,” White asked in response to a question on Jones vs. Pereira. “Yeah, that would be a fight, but can I count on Jon Jones? You can’t have Jon Jones doing something bad or pulling out of the f—ing White House fight.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
