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UFC: Dana White says Conor McGregor was offered title fight – ‘he didn’t do it, Justin Gaethje did’
- UFC president says McGregor ‘had the opportunity to slide in’ as replacement fighter for Khabib vs Tony Ferguson
- White says Irishman supposedly retiring ‘is just a matter of Conor being frustrated and him not getting what he wants’
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UFC president Dana White revealed that Conor McGregor rejected the offer of replacing the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson lightweight title fight scheduled earlier this year.
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White, who announced on Tuesday that “Fight Island” will be held in Abu Dhabi next month, said former double champion McGregor (22-4) had the “opportunity to slide in” should one of the two pull out in their now-cancelled April bout.
American Justin Gaethje (22-2) stepped in on five weeks’ notice, beating Ferguson for the interim title and earning a fight with champion Khabib (28-0). The 31-year-old McGregor abruptly announced his “retirement from the sport” last weekend before telling ESPN he wanted to fight Gaethje instead of “all this waiting around”.
“This is just a matter of Conor being frustrated and him not getting what he wants,” White told ESPN’s First Take. “He wanted to fight Gaethje, Gaethje just won to get the fight with Khabib. He just beat Tony Ferguson.
“Conor had the opportunity to slid into that spot if Khabib or Tony fell out. He came back and said ‘I’m not a replacement fighter, I’m not gonna do it’. He would be in that position right now if he took the fight. He didn’t do it, Gaethje did – so Gaethje gets it.”
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