Dana White questioned Conor McGregor’s ability to stay hungry by declaring: ‘It is tough to be a savage when he is living like he is’.
McGregor was stunned at UFC 257, falling victim to a second-round knockout against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi.
The Irishman vowed to come back, and pointed to his inactivity in the octagon as a reason for the result.
UFC president White said now will prove what McGregor is made of, with the multimillionaire needing motivation for a comeback.
He said: “Look, there is two ways this goes – hungrier or I’m done, he’s got the money,’ he said in the post-fight press conference.
“This is like Rocky III, when you get offered a 300-foot yacht, it is tough to be a savage when he is living like he is.
“When he was a young kid he was hungry, now he has got everything he ever wanted so I don’t know, it goes this way or that way.”
McGregor made waves when he arrived on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, sailing in a yacht with his family and coaching team.
Even before the pay-per-view event, the southpaw star revealed he was in talks for a lucrative return to the boxing ring to fight Manny Pacquiao, 42.
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In 2017 he made around £100m for losing his ring debut against Floyd Mayweather, 43. McGregor last suffered defeat in 2018, when he was submitted by bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, 32.
But since that night, the Irishman had just 40 seconds in the octagon, when he knocked out Donald Cerrone, 37, last January. And the former two-weight champion believes the lack of time in the cage was a sticking point in his performance.
McGregor said: “It’s hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time. And that’s just it.
“The leg kicks were good. That low calf good was very good. The leg was dead and I just wasn’t as comfortable as I needed to be.
“It’s inactivity and that’s it. But Dustin is some fighter. If you put in the time in here, you’re going to get cosy in here and that’s it.”
McGregor suffered his first setback in the UFC against Nate Diaz in March 2016.
But he avenged the result just five months later and would then win the lightweight title in November to close the year out with three fights.
McGregor’s latest loss could spark the motivation and platform to have a busy 2021, something he promised before heading into UFC 257.
And he has already called for a trilogy decider, tweeting: “Thanks for the support everyone! Was not my night/morning in there but a great contest to improve on. I’m excited at the blockbuster trilogy I now have on my hands. Dustin is a hell of a competitor and I look forward to going again. God bless us all, happy Sunday.”
Photo Credit: Getty
