Dana White and Conor McGregor see eye to eye on a lot of things. But occasionally – such as flying from Iceland to New York for press duties or potentially vacating a UFC belt – they spectacularly disagree.
McGregor was pleased that White, the UFC president, had his back last night. White was a guest on The Herd and stood with McGregor on his declaration he would not fight in Nevada [Las Vegas] again if his $150,000 fine from the state’s athletic commission stood.
‘Respect @danawhite’, McGregor tweeted not long after the interview.
One area where the pair may butt heads will only arise if McGregor defeats Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, next month, and takes his lightweight belt.
Asked if he was willing to relinquish that belt or his featherweight strap, were he to win on November 12, The Notorious declared:
“They’re going to need a f***ing army to try and take one of them [belts] off me, and that’s out straight.
“One’s going to be there [on my left], one’s going to be there [on my right], and I’m going to be picking and choosing who I want to destroy next. And that’s it.”
White, however, is sticking to his word that McGregor will not be allowed to hold up one division while he defends the belt in another.
On UFC Tonight, White was not for turning.
Dana White says that if Conor McGregor wins the Lightweight title at #UFC205 he'll have to vacate either the FW or LW belt.
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) October 13, 2016
There is, of course, the matter of McGregor overcoming Alvarez at UFC 205, which will be no mean feat.
White is also on the record stating that McGregor has a “left-field” announcement of a personal nature to make at the Madison Square Garden event.
Whether the Dubliner is planning a break away from mixed martial arts, making a movie, starting a family, joining the WWE or gunning for the welterweight division too, no-one knows for sure. Nothing would surprise us either.
