White Won’t Contact McGregor — ‘I Don’t Chase Guys’

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White likes to take things at face value, so as far as he’s concerned, both Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor are retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) and won’t be included in future matchmaker meetings.

Cejudo claims he’s done competing at both flyweight and bantamweight, where he captured (and defended) a pair of UFC titles, but recently left the door open for a potential return if the promotion is willing to book him against featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.

“He’s retired,” White said at the UFC on ESPN 11 press conference. “I just did another interview where people are asking me about other retired guys. These guys are retired. I’m not even thinking about any of those guys. They’re retired. There are so many kids right now that are here, that want to fight. Those are the people that I’m focused on.”

While White may be willing to part with “Triple C,” surely he would be thinking about McGregor, who like Cejudo held championship titles in two separate weight classes. After all, “Notorious” holds the record for UFC pay-per-view (PPV) buys and registers a nearly $20 million live gate.

“No,” White said about contacting the Irish slugger (via ESPN). “Conor McGregor is retired. I don’t chase guys that don’t want to fight. I don’t chase guys. We offer guys three fights a year. You get three fights a year, if you don’t want to fight, I’ve got a roster full of people who want to fight.”

Cejudo, 33, walked away from combat sports after finishing former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. The 31 year-old McGregor, meanwhile, was last seen at UFC 246 back in January, where he smashed veteran “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone.

So I guess this means we should also say goodbye to Jon Jones?!?