Dana White reflects on being “in a really bad place” with Conor McGregor

UFC President Dana White says he’s repaired his relationship with Conor McGregor after being in “a bad place” with the Irishman last year.

White and McGregor have butted heads several times over the years, most recently in mid-2020, when the Irish MMA star released some of his DMs with the UFC boss. Unsurprisingly, White was upset that what he believed was a private conversation was leaked to the public, particularly because he and McGregor were speaking about aging UFC veteran Diego Sanchez.

“We were in a really bad place then, I was really upset,” White  told ESPN recently. “It wasn’t because he put out private messages. We were talking about another fighter. And I like Diego Sanchez. I have a lot of respect for Diego Sanchez. I care about Diego Sanchez. I talked to Diego face-to-face about it, and being the great human being he is, we’re all good.

“I was really upset with Conor, but we fixed that and now we’re all good.”

With his relationship with McGregor repaired, White is understandably excited for the Irishman’s imminent fight with Dustin Poirier. The bout, a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that McGregor won by first-round knockout, headlines the UFC 257 card on January 23.

“The questions are always, ‘This guy is so rich, how hungry is he?” White said, delving into McGregor’s mindset. “There’s nothing more exciting or fun than a motivated Conor McGregor, when his head is in the right place. And you can tell when he is and when he isn’t, and right now, he’s in. My conversations with Conor, I know when the real Conor is here and the other Conor is here, and believe me when I tell you, the real Conor is here.

“If something happened to Dustin Poirier, he is the Conor McGregor right now that doesn’t give a s*** who we put in that fight,” White added. “He’s going to be, ‘Who’s ready? Who you got? I’m going to the gym, tell me who’s showing up on Saturday.’ He’s that guy right now. That Conor McGregor is back.”

Do you think the current peace between Dana White and Conor McGregor will last?