Dana White appeared on Sportscenter in the US tonight to explain why he had pulled Conor McGregor from UFC200.
White is holding fast to one of the UFC's most treasured core principals, namely, that one has a sacred obligation to engage in all the pre-fight marketing.
McGregor didn't want to bother with the pre-fight marketing this time around, believing it would interfere with his training.
This has only happened one other time in UFC history. It's when Nick Diaz didn't show up for the press conference for his fight with George St. Pierre and I pulled Nick Diaz from the fight.
So, he put out that tweet.
Is Conor McGregor retiring? Only he can answer that question, I don't know. But he's not fighting at UFC200.
He is in Iceland training and he felt that leaving right now would hurt his training in getting ready for the fight. But every other fighter is coming.
I get accused of coddling Conor all the time but at the end of the day, I respect Conor. He is a guy who has stepped up and taken fights at short notice and literally saved the show at times. But it doesn't make you exempt from the press conferences and all the pre-promotional stuff that we have to do.
We've spent a lot of money on this and you have to do it. It's mandatory.
Following the Nate Diaz loss, US-based Irish sportswriter Dave Hannigan said that McGregor had been making noises to suggest he was bigger than the UFC. Was this showdown between White and McGregor evidence of this?
White, for his part, insists they 'still have a good relationship' and that he respects him as a fighter. He can't say whether he is going to retire.
