Dana White has said that Conor McGregor never wants to fight in Nevada again, writes Stephen Barry.
McGregor called the UFC President yesterday and made it clear that he doesn’t want to return to the state that fined him $150,000 (€135,000) and ordered him to serve 50 hours of community service.
That came after a hearing into an altercation between McGregor and Nate Diaz at a UFC 202 pre-fight press conference.
McGregor has fought five times in Las Vegas, including all of his last four bouts.
White told The Herd on FOX Sports: “Conor McGregor hit me up yesterday and said, ‘I don’t ever want to fight in Nevada again. Ever.’
“Now how does that make sense for the state of Nevada? You’re going to try to fine this kid, and Nate, that much money; it just makes people not want to come and fight in our state. That’s not a good thing.”
I get fined more than these bums get paid
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 10, 2016
McGregor’s only other US fights have taken place in Boston, however the legalisation of MMA in New York has opened new opportunities for the UFC and McGregor.
The Dubliner’s next fight will take place at Madison Square Garden in November, with Eddie Alvarez’s lightweight belt up for grabs.
It is the first UFC event to take place in the city.
White even went so far as to say that McGregor could fight on an island and still draw a crowd.
“Guess what? Conor McGregor doesn’t need Nevada,” said White.
“He can fight anywhere. He could fight in Iowa. He could fight in Iowa, okay? We could put his fight on an island off the coast of anywhere. It just makes no sense for the state. It’s just terrible.”
It has been a long-term ambition of McGregor’s to have a stadium fight in Dublin, so perhaps McGregor could be fighting on an island soon…
