UFC president Dana White has poured cold water on the idea of Kamaru Usman vs. Conor McGregor.
Usman is the reigning UFC welterweight champion. He has expressed his belief that McGregor is deserving of a shot at the 170-pound gold. Usman said that he’s been offering McGregor the title opportunity but the “Notorious” one has gone silent.
Dana White Says Usman vs. McGregor Isn’t Happening
Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter, White made it clear that he has no plans to book Usman vs. McGregor (via MMAFighting).
“Listen, the next title fight for [Kamaru] Usman is going to be one of these guys — it’s gonna be Colby [Covington], [Jorge] Masvidal, [Leon] Edwards,” White told ESPN on Wednesday. “It’s going to be one of those guys. It’s not gonna be Conor McGregor.”
Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal was once thought to be a lock next. Instead, White has said that there may be other plans for “Gamebred.” Masvidal claims the holdup is that Usman has been asking the UFC for an “absurd” amount of money.
McGregor’s last bout was contested at welterweight. He took on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. The “Notorious” one made short work of Cerrone, scoring a first-round TKO victory.
Usman last put his welterweight gold on the line against Colby Covington back in Dec. 2019. This was Usman’s first welterweight title defense. “The Nigerian Nightmare” defeated Covington via fifth-round TKO.
McGregor’s next move remains a mystery. The former UFC “champ-champ” wants to remain active but the lightweight title picture is full. Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to take on interim title holder Justin Gaethje later this year. Dana White has said that McGregor doesn’t want to wait for the winner.
