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To no one’s surprise, the competition to secure a spot on the card has been fierce. It has even been alluring enough to bring Jon Jones out of his short retirement, which came about after he couldn’t come to terms with the UFC on a fight with Tom Aspinall. If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Regardless of why Jones opted to give up the heavyweight title, he immediately made it known he wanted to participate at the event.
White’s reaction to Jones has been less than warm. In fact, he has flat out said he has no intention of offering Jones a spot on the card. Given Jones’ history, it’s hard to blame White for not even considering him. Including his interim championship, Jones has been stripped of a title in three of his five reigns due to either PED testing failures or legal issues. While the other two occasions may have been voluntary, it still doesn’t reflect well on someone many consider to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time. Given that Jones refused to give the UFC—and the fans—the fight they most wanted, why should the UFC give him a fight on the White House card?
The other name that has been highly connected to the White House show is Conor McGregor. Given that McGregor is the most recognizable MMA fighter in the history of the sport, it only makes sense there would be talks about his being on the card. White has even been open to McGregor being included, saying he believes he can trust the Irishman. I don’t know what planet White is living on, but while McGregor may be more trustworthy than Jones, that isn’t a high bar to clear. For such a high-profile show—potentially the most significant event in MMA history—McGregor is another name that can’t be trusted.
First, there’s the potential for a PED failure. McGregor hasn’t fought since he broke his leg in his second loss to Dustin Poirier four years ago. While I haven’t seen a drug test, McGregor’s appearance underwent a massive change in that time away, leading many to speculate he was taking a heavy dose of PEDs. Perhaps that isn’t an issue. For one, McGregor is supposedly back in the testing pool, but there’s also the fact that the UFC hasn’t had nearly as many drug test failures since it severed ties with United States Anti-Doping Agency. Perhaps there isn’t as much concern that McGregor won’t pass a drug test when the UFC has greater sway over the testing organization. Regardless, remember how unimpressive Vitor Belfort was when he had to come off testosterone replacement therapy? McGregor will be just short of 38 by the time the White House event rolls around, with just a single victory since November 2016. Does anyone expect the magic to return if he’s legitimately off PEDs?
Of course, part of the reason McGregor has only a single win in that time is that he’s more interested in being a celebrity than he is in being a fighter. That was always the case, but McGregor recognized that fighting was his road to becoming a celebrity, and he expertly managed to take that route. He broke the bank when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. and only showed back up when the situation interested him. Forget about what the UFC or the fans want; it was only about McGregor. He was scheduled for a bout in June 2024 and never bothered to attempt to rebook it. To a degree, I don’t blame him. He had made enough money by then that he could stop fighting if he wanted to. However, now the UFC wants to reward him with a prominent spot on the White House card when he will have been absent from the cage for five years?
Remember, Donald Trump Likes Winners
READ HERE
Opinion: Conor McGregor Not a Trustworthy Commodity for UFC White House Show
Sherdog columnist Dayne Fox outlines why the polarizing former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder does not deserve to be considered for perhaps the most significant MMA event in history.
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