As the momentum towards UFC 229 gathers pace BT Sport have released an interview with UFC boss Dana White, in which the 49-year-old discusses the upcoming McGregor Vs Khabib bout, Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier's upcoming fight and his role in the company.
Another topic covered in the piece were the calls from UFC fighters, Conor McGregor included, for the UFC to introduce a new 165 pound division to combat the weight cut issues that have plagued the sport lately.
White however, was not enamoured with the suggestion, emphatically shutting down the idea, as well as giving his reason as to why it's not feasible:
It's a crock of shit. The whole 165 thing is bullshit. It's something that they've talked about, it's nothing we've talked about. It's not gonna happen. It will completely destroy the 170 pound division and it will completely destroy the 155 pound division.
And what I don't want to have happen is, guys who can't win the title at 170 or 155 just jump into 165 so they can try and win a title there.
Pretty conclusive from White there, and though he does make a salient point about fighters jumping in and out of divisions he also does not proffer any solution for the company's frequent problems with fighters not making weight.
Predictably much of the other conversation surrounded UFC 229 and Conor McGregor, with White rejecting the notion that the Dubliner gets favourable treatment in the UFC, and also explaining why the 30-year-old is so popular:
Everybody talks smack that I kiss Conor's ass and all this other stuff and Conor would completely disagree with that I think, but Conor McGregor is the perfect example... why do you think he's such a big star?
You think he's such a big star because he's funny? Yeah that's part of it. You think he's such a big star because he speaks so well? Absolutely part of it. And you just keep going down the line of all these things that make him a star, but number one first and foremost the reason he is a global superstar and people love this guy is because he's a real fighter.
I'm the guy that makes the phone calls and here's people going 'yeah I'm not going to take that fight and I'm not going to do this and I'm not going to do that'... Never has Conor McGregor said no.
