Dana White says Conor McGregor could still fight at UFC 200, maintains relationship ‘isn’t damaged at all’

UFC President Dana White is sticking to his story.

White joined SportsCenter to announce the removal of Conor McGregor from July 9’s UFC 200 even Tuesday. While McGregor claimed to retire via social media, White insisted the decision materialized because of McGregor’s refusal to promote the fight ahead of time.

Joining Colin Cowherd on Wednesday’s edition of The Herd on Fox Sports 1, White elaborated on that point.

“So, Conor basically said that he, he didn’t want to come to Las Vegas,” White told Cowherd. “We had a tour planned. We were going to start in Vegas. We were going to then go to Stockton, and then New York. And then he could go back to, you know, to Iceland, where he is right now.

“And he said, ‘I don’t want to do it. I’m not going to come.’ And I was basically saying, ‘You have to come.’ In the history of us owning the UFC, there’s been one time that a guy hasn’t shown up for his press conference, and it was [Nick] Diaz vs. [longtime UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre] GSP [ahead of UFC 137]. I pulled [Nick] Diaz from the fight. You can’t not show up to promote your fight.”

Despite the obvious tension in the current situation, White told Cowherd the issue was largely a matter of timing. The conversation between himself and McGregor’s team never turned foul.

“It never got combative, and I was talking to his manager,” White said. “They were asking to move all this stuff to May, and …

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