White taking wait and see approach on next featherweight title shot
UFC president Dana White: “I told Cub and Frankie, ‘Don’t worry about anything you hear with all the Conor McGregor talk and all the other stuff.”
On UFC.com’s weekly The Download, Matt Parrino interviews UFC president Dana White on the most pressing issues of the week. It is widely believed that Conor McGregor would get a title shot at Jose Aldo, if “Notorious” beats Denis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 on Jan 18 in Boston.
If (McGregor) should win, we would definitely be interested in making that (title) fight,” said White at the UFC 179 post fight press conference. “But this has to happen first. Let the Siver fight happen first, and we’ll see how everything else plays out.
“First you have to go in and beat Dennis Siver. You don’t ever want to jump ahead of fights. He has a fight with Dennis Siver. If he wins that fight, we’ll figure out the how, who, when, and where.”
That statement falls short of a promise for a title fight. Further, Cub Swanson fights Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 57 on Nov. 22 and Swanson believes that with a win over Edgar, he, not McGregor, would get the next shot at Aldo.
On The Download, White made it clear that he isn’t making any title fights just yet. Instead, he wants to see how things play out.
I told Cub and Frankie, ‘Don’t worry about anything you hear with all the Conor McGregor talk and all the other stuff. You worry about Cub Swanson and you worry about Frankie Edgar.’ said White. Believe me, the fact that people are arguing over who should get a title shot in the 145-pound division isn’t a bad thing. It’s a good thing.
In general, White was ecstatic over the featherweight division, and everyone in it.
White on Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes at UFC 179:
I called Mendes and I called Aldo three days after the fight to tell them how honored I was to be able to sit in the seat I was sitting in and seeing that fight, said White said. It was two guys who don’t want to move backwards and who won’t break, and they just kept going at each other. Aldo won the war of attrition. He won that fight. A lot of people were talking about Mendes getting robbed. Mendes fought an awesome fight, but Aldo absolutely won that fight and I think it raised his stock.
White on Mendes and coach Duane Bang Ludwig:
All the props in the world to Bang Ludwig, who might be the best striking coach in the business. Yes, he jumped into a camp full of studs, guys who were extremely talented, but they were wrestlers, White said about Ludwig, who also coaches UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. What you saw at UFC 179 was a Chad Mendes who was checking Aldo’s kicks, and I think landed more leg kicks than Aldo did in that fight. Mendes wanted that belt so goddamn bad, and they went toe to toe.
White on the featherweight division generally:
Especially with all the excitement in that division with Conor McGregor, Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar – that division is so exciting that people are talking about freaking Nik Lentz and Dennis Bermudez.”
So UG, this is your cue to say you hate the featherweight division… 🙂