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Dana White said that he would like to see Conor McGregor return to the UFC.
Dana White thinks "The Notorious" could return in 2022. 1:45.
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Dana White doesn't know if anything will ever stress him out in the mixed martial arts business. Not after what he went through in 2020.
The UFC had a good year this year, and a lot of that success can be attributed to the company's ability to navigate the Pandemic last year. The UFC was the most aggressive sports property in the world when it came to maintaining its schedule in 2020, as it continued to host live events on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi and in its own UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.
The main reason White was so aggressive in 2020 was that he wanted to keep his employees and athletes working. It paid dividends from a financial aspect. The UFC sold approximately 8.6 million pay-per-views in 2021, which is a company record, according to White.
According to White, it is already off to a great start. The UFC is set to make over $5 million in live gate for UFC 271 in Anaheim, California, on January 22nd. The California record for UFC 241 was $3.24 million.
White had to say about some of the biggest storylines that will propel the UFC in the new year.
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One of the biggest upsets in UFC history was the victory of the women's bantamweight title by Julianna Pena.
I talked to her that night, and she said that she couldn't explain how she lost the game. She couldn't do anything. She doesn't know what happened. She wants to find out. She's going to talk to performance coaches and find out what happened to her. She came out and started fighting, and the thing about her was that she was going to win the fight. She kept coming forward and did what it took to win the fight.
I'll always say that the guy has a lot of money, but he's still passionate about fighting. He's ready to come back and he's doing everything he can to get himself ready to perform again. He's telling me this and you can see it in his social media posts. He will be back this summer if everything goes well with his leg. I don't know what the landscape will look like when he returns. By the time McGregor comes back,Dustin Poirier could be retired. I don't know if he could fight for the title when he comes back. I don't know the answer until it gets closer.
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Dana White talks about the process of getting his next UFC fight, the final on his current contract.
There's no difference in the way that he's being matched with someone else. The fans want to see a fight and that's what it needs to be. You want a big fight if they make a lot of money. A good fight. A fight is important. A fight is going to create a lot of hype. If you have 10 fights or no fights left on your contract, that's the same. We would wait until the deal was done and that's all. We've had guys fight their contracts out, and possibly one of them, is Nate. The champion is going to fight his contract out. I don't want to act like I turned the fight down or that the fight was stopped. I don't want to get into that. I say this to you all the time, I'm in the fight business. I have to give these guys three fights a year, and they can either say yes or no. There is always a trilogy with McGregor. That fight could happen. We could make that fight.
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The fans at UFC 266 were treated to a show byRobbie and Nick.
I was very impressed with Nick's comeback. I had conversations with the man who beat him, and he had nothing but respect for him. I don't think Nick should fight because he didn't do well after his layoff. He can do what he wants. I don't think Nick does this because he loves it. He does it because he has to. People ask me what's the key to success. Being happy and doing what you love is all that matters. I feel like people who sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic for a job they hate are like Nick Diaz. He's in bumper-to-bumper traffic when he's ready to fight. It's fascinating. For a guy who had been off for a long time, nothing but respect for Nick.
Francis Ngannou is on the final fight of his contract. Sometimes you don't agree with people. When you're a fighter, you have to be careful who you represent. I don't think he's had the best representation. We would love to have you with us. No problem if you don't want to be with us. It's all good. I think his contract is off the top of my mind, if he wins, he still has time with us after this fight. He would probably have one more fight.
