Conor McGregor 'might never fight again', claims UFC president Dana White to throw UFC return into major doubt

Conor McGregor may never return to the UFC Octagon after president Dana White admitted he may have earned too much money to ever fight again.

McGregor is weighing up his next move after being beaten by Floyd Mayweather in his debut boxing bout last August, with a possible rematch, a UFC return and both moves into WWE and Hollywood all serious options for the Irishman.

The last time McGregor was seen in the Octagon, he became the first ever two-time simultaneous UFC champion after defeating Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title at UFC 205 in November 2016, which added to the featherweight strap he already held.

But with McGregor then turning his attentions to boxing, the UFC divisions have moved on, as Max Holloway defeated Jose Aldo to claim the featherweight championship while Tony Ferguson defeated Kevin Lee for the interim lightweight title. McGregor has spoken of his intention to return to the UFC to face Ferguson, but UFC president White has cast serious doubt on McGregor potential return.

“Conor might never fight again. The guy’s got $100m,” White said while at UFC’s headquarters in Las Vegas. “I’ve got guys that made less than that and were lawyers and went to school their whole life and quit working.”

White allowed McGregor to take time away from the UFC to face Mayweather on condition that he returns afterwards, and the company president remains hopefully – along with UFC owners WME-IMG – that McGregor will sign a new contract to return to the UFC next year.

McGregor was also landed himself in serious controversy of late. The Irishman was slated to appear at UFC 219 on 30 December in Vegas to take on Ferguson, only for him to be removed from the event after he jumped into a ring at a Bellator show in Dublin, pushed referee Marc Goddard and slapped a Bellator official.

According to Mike Mazzulli, head of the Association of Boxing Commissions [ABC], who was in attendance on the night, the UFC decided to punish McGregor for the incident and remove him from the plans for UFC 219, which will now be headlined by the bout between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm.

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McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, denied Mazzulli’s suggestion, but White reiterated that that was the case.

“He was being dealt with by the head of the ABC,” White said. “We were going to fight him, regardless of what Audie says. We were working on a fight for him at the end of the year. And he’s just not ready.”

There have been plenty of questions about McGregor’s behaviour since the Mayweather fight, with the Dubliner posting numerous Instagram updates of him enjoying nights out and reports of him partying for days on end while he enjoys time away from mixed martial arts.

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White attempted to explain the recent questionable behaviour, and believes that his large entourage – to which he referred to as “cling-ons” – does not help give him the right circumstances for which to focus on his fighting career.

“Try to get up and get punched in the face every day when you’ve got $100 million in the bank,” he said. “Money changes everything with a lot of people.”

White added: “He’s a young, rich kid who is a god in Ireland,” White said. “That’s not the healthiest environment either. It’s all part of it.

“When he travels, he’s got people for days with him. When you make that kind of money, you’re that famous and you’re a professional athlete, you’re gonna have an overload of cling-ons.”