White: McGregor may never fight again, and I don’t want Rousey to
Dana White: “I don’t want it to happen. I care about her and she’s got enough money and all that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen.”
UFC president Dana White took part recently in a media luncheon, and discussed the two most famous fighters in mixed martial arts history, Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor. It is believed that Rousey has moved on from the sport. And while McGregor gives every indication of wanting to fight again, he made $100 million boxing Floyd Mayweather, so who knows.
Rousey is married now to UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, and has multiple television appearances, including coaching on ABC’s Battle of the Network Stars. The UFC boss was asked about a potential Rowdy return.
I wouldn’t want to see it, said White, as transcribed by MMA Weekly. I don’t want it to happen. I care about her and she’s got enough money and all that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen.
She’s good. She’s happy. She’s happy doing her thing. If you look at Ronda Rousey, where she is now in her life, she accomplished everything she ever wanted to accomplish and now she wants to have a life, like a personal life. Enjoy all the hard work she put in. She’s been working since she was a kid.
She’s achieved everything she wanted to do, she made a s***load of money and now she wants to actually have a life.
She has not retired. USADA is still popping up at her house testing her. She refuses to retire. She’s not ready to say ‘I quit.’ She’s not ready to say, ‘I’m done,’ for whatever reason. She doesn’t tick like everybody else ticks. We found that out over the years.
White was also asked about McGregor.
“We were working on a fight for him at the end of the year, and he’s just not ready,” said White, as transcribed by Brett Okamoto for ESPN. “We’re still in that ‘Conor might never fight again’ [phase]. The guy’s got a f***ing $100 million. I’ve got guys who have made less than that, who were lawyers their whole lives and quit working … And fighting is the worst. Try to get up and get punched in the face for a living when you’ve got $100 million in the bank.”
“Conor is a rich kid, who is a god in Ireland. That’s not the healthiest environment.”
“At the end of the day, I’m going to run this business with or without anybody. If Conor wants to fight again, we absolutely want Conor to come back. But if Conor walks away and doesn’t fight again, it’s part of the game.
“We need to figure that out. Right now, with him, it’s not about defend or vacate. We’re working on a new deal with him. We’ve got to work out this new deal.”
