Dana White says it’s inevitable that Conor McGregor’s drive was going to dip once he made a lot of money.
McGregor has lost three of his past four bouts, and is coming off back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier – most recently breaking his leg in a doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to “The Diamond” in July 2021.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) recently coached “The Ultimate Fighter Season 31” opposite side Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC), and the pair were expected to fight after. However, the bout has yet to be booked, as McGregor has yet to re-enter the USADA testing pool which is required in order for him to be eligible to compete. UFC CEO White anticipates a McGregor return in 2024.
“He is back in the gym. He’s training,” White said on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.” “I expect to see Conor fighting next year.”
Former UFC dual-champion McGregor rose to uncharted heights after claiming a second UFC belt with a domination of Eddie Alvarez. That led to a boxing match with undefeated Floyd Mayweather, as well as the launch of his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand which he later sold to make even more hundreds of millions.
Undoubtedly the biggest and wealthiest star to ever grace the octagon, White says it’s probably hard for McGregor to find the motivation to continue training when he’s achieved plenty in and out of the octagon.
“Here’s what happens, Piers, and you know this – I’m sure you’ve seen this with colleagues and friends and people that you know,” White said. “Once a certain level of money is attained, to be the person that you were coming up, to be that hungry and work that hard and be that dedicated to the sport, or whatever craft it is you do, money changes everything. Conor McGregor has made that kind of money. It’s not a knock. It’s just a fact.
“When we sold the company in 2016, this was sort of a Microsoft of fighting. There were a lot of people that made a lot of money, and a lot of people left and they went and retired, or moved onto – you have to have a certain type of drive to make that kind of money, and you’ve seen guys in this sport when they make that kind of money, they’ll fight a lot less like Conor has, or they go on losing streaks because you are not that same person once you get that kind of money.”
UFC CEO Dana White on Conor McGregor’s recent octagon struggles: ‘Money changes everything’
