NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White on Wednesday confirmed Conor McGregor would play no part in an upcoming fight card in July, seeking to draw a line under a public spat with the Irish superstar.
Featherweight champion McGregor had stunned the mixed martial arts world last week by announcing his “retirement” before later backtracking and claiming he had not decided to hang up his gloves.
The UFC responded by pulling the 27-year-old from the top billing for UFC 200 in Las Vegas on July 9, where he had been due to face Nate Diaz in a rematch.
McGregor on Monday however caused fresh confusion after tweeting that he was back on the UFC 200 card, thanking White for helping broker a deal.
White in turn responded by denying that a deal had been reached for McGregor’s return, insisting that the Diaz fight was off.
On Wednesday White confirmed that a light heavyweight title unification bout between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones would headline the July card in Las Vegas.
White confirmed the billing during an appearance on on ABC television’s “Good Morning America.”
White later told a news conference in New York that McGregor had withdrawn over a reluctance to engage in promotional work.
He insisted however that McGregor had a future with the UFC.
“I’ve said it a million times, Conor asked to fight Nate Diaz and Conor wants to fight Nate Diaz,” White said.
“Conor doesn’t back down from fights. One of the things that has made Conor popular and as big as he is, is this dude wants to fight.
“He comes to fight. He comes out guns blazing. Conor is fun. Conor is a stud. I have a lot of respect for Conor. Conor and I just had — you know, you have to show up and do the PR. You have to do it.”
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