Dana White has dismissed suggestions that the timing of the UFC’s announcement regarding Conor McGregor’s comeback fight was intended to overshadow Francis Ngannou’s return to combat sports last weekend.
White went live on Instagram during UFC Vegas 117 at the UFC Apex to officially confirm McGregor’s long-awaited return fight against Max Holloway. The bout is set to headline UFC 329 during International Fight Week.
The announcement, however, came at nearly the same time Ngannou was making his walk to the cage to face Philipe Lins at Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, which streamed live on Netflix.
Because of White and Ngannou’s well-documented fallout following the former UFC heavyweight champion’s departure from the promotion in 2023, some fans and observers speculated that the timing of the McGregor announcement was a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from “The Predator.”
Speaking in an interview with Fred Beck on Sunday, White strongly denied those claims and insisted the announcement was made simply because the deal had just been finalized.
“I had a f---ing fight here that night,” White said. “Anybody who thinks that I gave a sh-- what was going on anywhere else is out of their f---ing minds.”
White also rejected the idea that he was paying attention to competing events while running a UFC card.
“We announced it as soon as we got it done, and we were in the middle of our event,” White added. “(I couldn’t) give a f--- what those guys are doing. You kidding me?”
McGregor has not fought since suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. His upcoming fight with Holloway is expected to mark one of the biggest attractions of the UFC calendar year.
