Dana White Pumps Brakes on Final UFC Fight For Conor McGregor Ahead of UFC 329

Although UFC CEO Dana White said he is excited to see Conor McGregor return to the Octagon for the first time in five years Saturday, July 11, at UFC 329 against Max Holloway in Las Vegas. White admitted following UFC Vegas 119 Saturday night that he isn't looking ahead to McGregor's next fight (tentatively scheduled for next April), the final fight of his current UFC contract.

White did not confirm nor deny McGregor's comments last Tuesday on The Ariel Helwani Show regarding the parties having "met in the middle" when considering McGregor's worth to the company.

Instead, White, who has done business on and off with McGregor for over a decade, dialed it back.

What's Next For Conor McGregor After UFC 329?

"I don't even know," White said about McGregor's intentions next year. "Let's get through this one [the Holloway fight] first, and then we'll figure out when the next one is, you know. To even be talking about his second fight without even having his first fight [is crazy]."

White then took a verbal jab toward MMA fans who give opinions on cards before they conclude, arguing that the same old narrative is getting tiresome. Regarding McGregor, though, White isn't ruling anything out.

"So, who knows?" White said. "Let's see how this fight plays out first."

McGregor told Helwani that before the UFC decided on a Holloway rematch, McGregor was linked to a fight against Brazilian welterweight contender Carlos Prates instead.

"They said [yes] to me about [Prates],” McGregor said. "I said, ‘Yeah, no problem. Send the contract.’ So I’m saying yeah for about two weeks. Where’s the contract? No contract came. Do you know what it was? They wanted me back down at 155 pounds.”

McGregor, who has previously admitted to being much more comfortable at welterweight, eventually got what he wanted.

Conor McGregor Predicts Max Holloway Rematch At UFC 329

“Look, Max is alright," McGregor said. "Max is good. Max is my son. I son’d Max when we fought those years ago, and I’m gonna do so again."

Despite Holloway's track record of fighting the best of the best, a dismissive McGregor doesn't see it that way.

"I don’t think so,” McGregor said of Holloway's overall career pedigree since their 2013 fight. "I don’t see much. I don’t see much difference, no. Same reactions, same movements. Listen, Max got better after he fought me. He added more moves to his game. But even still, there’s only one. I’m not gonna say I don’t rate him; I don’t rate any of them.”

McGregor is attempting to win his first fight since Jan. 2020, defeating Donald Cerrone in the same venue as the upcoming Holloway rematch: T-Mobile Arena.

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