Conor McGregor may have had his last bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to UFC president Dana White.
In a year that has seen McGregor make a move into boxing for "the money fight" against American Floyd Mayweather, White says that the lucrative bout could spell the end of the Dubliner’s UFC career. McGregor has not fought in the UFC since his knockout win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 a year ago.
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“We were working on a fight for him at the end of the year, and he’s just not ready,” White said in a report by ESPN.
“We’re still in that ‘Conor might never fight again’ [phase]. The guy’s got a f***ing $100 million. I’ve got guys who have made less than that, who were lawyers their whole lives and quit working... and fighting is the worst.
“Try to get up and get punched in the face for a living when you’ve got $100 million in the bank.”
Since his fight against Mayweather in August, McGregor has been involved in a number of controversial incidents – including when he stormed into the octagon during the Bellator 187 event in Dublin on 12 November.
The Sun reported that McGregor “leapt over the cage to celebrate” with Charlie Ward following the knockout win over John Redmond. McGregor then clashed with referee Marc Goddard.
In response to the incident and McGregor’s UFC future, White added: “Conor is a rich kid, who is a god in Ireland. That’s not the healthiest environment.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to run this business with or without anybody. If Conor wants to fight again, we absolutely want Conor to come back. But if Conor walks away and doesn’t fight again, it’s part of the game.
“We need to figure that out. Right now, with him, it’s not about defend or vacate. We’re working on a new deal with him. We’ve got to work out this new deal.”