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Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been two of the biggest stars Dana White has ever worked with. Their rivalry alone created history, generating 2,400,000 pay-per-view buys for the company. While ‘The Eagle’ and ‘The Notorious’ made the promotion widely known, both also rose to massive stardom and financial success, something the UFC CEO seems positive about. Still, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that part of him always wished they had continued fighting in his promotion for a longer time. While acknowledging why McGregor’s career shifted toward inactivity, White always remained upfront with his stance. Last year, the head honcho told Shannon Sharpe via the Club Shay Shay YouTube channel, “It’s impossible for that money not to affect you and phase you,” as White spoke about the Irishman’s journey in his company and how it reached incredible heights of success. However, he was never very open about the Russian. Until now. The UFC CEO revealed that Khabib Nurmagomedov becoming the first-ever Muslim champion made him an enormous star in the Middle East, and also pointed out how money changed them both. Dana White believes money changed both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov In an interview with Prince St. Pizza, Dana White said, “I mean, money ruins everything. So, once you get too much money involved in the fight business, if you look at Conor, Conor made so much money, and that was it. Then Khabib made s—t load of money, and that’s it. You know, but being a part of that, I fought it for so long, this isn’t a fight to make, and if the fans see it so bad, we ended up doing it, and it was awesome, it was fun.” Here, the UFC CEO highlighted how McGregor’s journey to becoming one of the highest-paid athletes in the world began after he earned over $100M from the boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. Without a doubt, it was a massive financial boost for ‘The Notorious’, allowing him to invest in multiple business ventures, which played a key role in slowing down his UFC career. And now, McGregor owns several lucrative businesses and hasn’t fought in four years, which will turn into five with his projected return in 2026. And White also didn’t mince words about Khabib either. Dana White added in the Prince St. Pizza interview, “Yeah, with Khabib, you know, again. I’ve always said, wait till we get a Muslim champion, you know, 3 billion Muslims or whatever, but the problem was that he went on a Muslim countries tour. He hit Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and they rained on him. He made so much money that he didn’t have to fight anymore, and his dad passed away, which had a lot to do with him.” Well, the former undefeated UFC legend making enough money to retire might also be a reason for him stepping away at his peak. However, it also needs to be acknowledged that Khabib didn’t accept Dana White’s 40 million dollars to return to the UFC. Moreover, the Russian even told Sport24 that his mother asked him to stop fighting. So, ‘The Eagle’s not returning to UFC might be more complex than just money. But when it comes to Conor McGregor, things take a different route. The reason? The Notorious himself admitted that dealing with fame and stardom was overwhelming at times. ‘The Notorious’ accepts that stardom overwhelmed him at times In the UFC, Conor McGregor’s name stands as the most impactful fighter, playing the lion’s share in making the sport a household name. To put things into numbers, ‘The Notorious’ delivered eight straight million-dollar PPV buys for the UFC, showing just how much he meant to fans as a star. Even without being active, he continues to make headlines through his various ventures, and now, mostly for his new role as a BKFC promoter. During his promotional duties at the BKFC 82 press conference, the Irishman spoke about how overwhelming the rise to stardom was for him. Now, he has accepted a different role as a promoter, responsible for uplifting fighters just as White once did for him. McGregor said, “You get these fighters, they come up and no one cares about you. You’re rocking under the radar, no one asks you a question, you get to show up and have fun and do your thing and there’s no stress of the outside world and it’s perfect.” He added, “Then when you rise, you’ve got to add this promotional element to it and both of them combined is incredibly draining. I wouldn’t be the first to tell you it almost broke me, and to be honest, maybe it did break me. As I went on and achieved massive success and global, otherworldly superstardom. It overcame me at times.” And that definitely signifies that McGregor might have gone through some deep soul-searching as he prepares for a comeback, possibly at the White House event, which remains unannounced. That said, do you think ‘The Notorious’ will shake off his cobwebs and make a solid return? And do you agree with Dana White that money changed both Conor and Khabib? Let us know in the comments section below.
