Dana White says Conor McGregor might be too rich to fight again

The Irishman - who was last in the cage at UFC 264 in 2021 - was touted for a return following his appearance across from fellow coach Michael Chandler in The Ultimate Fighter last year. But with the season ending in August and no fight announced, fans have been left in the dark ever since.

In the post-fight press conference at UFC 298, White listed two major reasons for McGregor's continued absence from the cage.

"The first problem is that he broke that shin bone, he's been recovering from that," said the boss, referring to the shin-shattering end to his fight with Dustin Poirier. 

"The other problem is he's f****** rich. Conor McGregor does not need money."

Now when White is on the mic, no journalist is safe. With the media scrum laughing, he drove home his point with another verbal jab: "If you had s*** loads of money, would you be sitting here right now asking me this question?"

"I don't know [If McGregor will fight for the UFC again]. Conor McGregor has a lot of money. We're thrilled when he comes and fights, but money complicates a lot of things. He does want to fight this year, but we will see what happens."

While this may sound pessimistic, White went on to defend his cash cow.

"Conor McGregor has probably been one of the best business partners we've ever had," he added.

"For a guy that was on the dole, Conor McGregor is a very good businessman, he's always been a great partner to us. There's never any haggling for money, he's never done anything remotely close to that… it's the exact opposite."

Nevertheless, McGregor's prolonged absence seemingly hasn't dampened his star power at all. New UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria immediately called out McGregor following his impressive KO win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.

The former double UFC champion has featured in each of the top four UFC pay-per-views of all time, as well as seven of the top ten. 

READ MORE: UFC 298 - Ilia Topuria knocks out champion Alexander Volkanovski, calls out Conor McGregor