On Saturday night, Dana White will promote what is viewed by many as the biggest boxing fight since Floyd Mayweather took on Conor McGregor back in 2017, in the super middleweight clash between Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
Beyond that, however, one of the main things that has gotten a lot of steam over the past couple of months is the announcement that White and the UFC will host a fight card at the White House next summer.
Many have speculated who will be on the card: Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and newly-crowned UFC Middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev all have stated a desire to headline the card.
And it seems like White has decided who he wants to be at the top of the card – McGregor.
Jon Jones Not Trusted To Headline White House Card
Jones would seem like the most natural choice, given that any future return to the UFC, after temporarily retiring in June, would almost certainly entail a UFC Heavyweight Championship fight with current champion, Tom Aspinall, if he gets through frenchman, Cyril Gane, in late October this year.
But despite this, White does not want Jones headlining the card – according to an interview on Thursday with Wade Plemons – stating that he feels Jones is too unreliable.
“He has made it very clear to me that this is what he wants to do,” White said on Thursday, “But I need people on this card that I can count on, that no matter what happens; opponents get switched out or whatever happens; I need guys that I can absolutely count on, that are going to show up that night.”
Although the UFC CEO does not explicitly state that Jones is actively unreliable, it is fairly clear from context and the general sequence of events concerning the previously planned Tom Aspinall fight, which ultimately resulted in Jones reneging on his word to fight Aspinall this year, that White does not fully trust the former two-division champion.
Dana White Wants Conor McGregor To Headline UFC White House
Instead, White believes that the guy to headline what may be the biggest card in the history of the organization – or certainly the most notorious – is indeed ‘The Notorious’ himself, Conor McGregor.
“Say what you want about Conor McGregor, cause people like to talk shit about that too. But he is that guy – and he’s always been that guy. I’ve been in the room, I’ve been on the phone. Lots of people like to talk tough publicly, but behind the scenes it’s a whole ‘nother ball game. When the shit hits the fan, who’s really willing to go out and Conor McGregor has always been that guy.”
And to clarify even further when pushed as to say who is at the top of his list to headline the card, White explicitly stated that he wants the former double champ.
“I just said, Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor has always been that guy.”
McGregor has not managed to get back in the octagon since his second loss to Dustin Poirier back in July 2021, but if White and co. can get him back in the ring for this card, the UFC could really have something special on their hands.
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