UFC president Dana White didn't exactly provide the best answer when asked about the status of the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight.
After months of no updates, fight fans finally got some news on McGregor's UFC return fight as the Irishman revealed the date for his clash with Chandler would be announced by the time The Ultimate Fighter 31 finishes airing in August.
He also added it would take place before the end of the year. However, McGregor also added that his issues with USADA — the biggest stumbling block for his return — were taken care of.
But as things stand, he is still yet to submit a drug test and when White was asked if he was concerned about the fight coming to fruition, he proceeded to give an unclear answer:
“I never get concerned,” White told reporters following UFC Vegas 74 on Saturday night. “We have a massive roster of people that want to come in and people that are ready to fight and people that want to be Conor McGregor. And be at that level. It’s like for the last 20 years everybody said, ‘Oh my God, what are you guys going to do when Chuck Liddell retires? You guys are f****d. Oh my God. GSP. Anderson Silva. This and that.’
“This is a professional sport. People come in here, they achieve great things and they retire. You can never worry about that type of stuff. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. And it’s my job and my team’s job to find new talent and build them.”
For now, White isn't even thinking of the possibility of McGregor vs. Chandler falling through. That said, he acknowledged that there are certain issues that come with having McGregor fight these days.
“First of all, Conor called me a couple days ago and loved the first episode of ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and saying how happy he was to be a part of it,” White explained. “And I think being here and part of the environment and everything else, he felt it again and felt like he wants to get back to fight.
“The one thing you guys have to understand is this kid has so much money. It’s like Khabib now. These guys got s**tloads of money and it’s hard to reel these guys in and get them to get in and fight.”
Is White implying McGregor doesn't have the motivation to compete as much as before? It wouldn't be surprising given the money he has.
Then again, the former two-weight champion has repeatedly spoken of his love for the fight game despite his riches and only recently hyped up his return, stating it would be the greatest return in combat sports history.
We'll just have to wait for the time being.
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