Dana White non-commital on further sanctions for McGregor: ‘Conor and I are good’

Conor McGregor settled his case with the state of New York this week, and it sounds like that’s all that UFC president Dana White needs to hear so that he can move on to figuring out what’s next for the his biggest star.

On Thursday, McGregor appeared in a Brooklyn court to officially agree to a plea deal in regards to his chaotic April 5 appearance at the Barclays Center where he and several associates rampaged through the loading area following a media day for UFC 223. McGregor was seen hurling a dolly at a bus window (in an alleged attempt to attack rival Khabib Nurmagomedov), resulting in the window shattering and glass shards causing injuries to Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg.

Chiesa and Borg were subsequently removed from their bouts at UFC 223, as was McGregor’s friend and teammate Artem Lobov for his involvement in the incident.

McGregor pled guilty to one count of disorderly conduct and will have to participate in five days of community service as well as up to three days of anger management evaluation. He will also pay restitution for the damages to the bus. However, the incident will not go on his criminal record and perhaps most importantly for the Irishman, his travel visa is unaffected.

Weeks after McGregor’s Barclays Center rampage, White said that the UFC will deal with any potential punishments to the fighter after his legal issues were resolved. White was asked for an update on the situation at a media scrum Friday in Calgary, Alberta after the weigh-ins for UFC on FOX 30, and he could not confirm whether there would be further sanctions for McGregor from UFC officials.

“Conor has faced a lot of repercussions,” said White, per TSN. “Conor has lost a lot of money and a lot of time and yeah, Conor and I are good. We’re good.”

One thing White was certain about is that he expects a meeting between Nurmagomedov, the man who won McGregor’s vacated lightweight championship at UFC 223, and McGregor will happen “sooner than later”. That’s unfortunate news for lightweight contenders Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, who meet in a rematch this Saturday at UFC on FOX 30 that both were hoping would have title shot implications.

White expressed his excitement over the Alvarez-Poirier bout, but added, “The fight everybody wants to see is Conor and Khabib.”

Following the announcement of Thursday’s plea deal, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar said that the fighter is “getting back to business” and to expect news about his future soon. White agreed that the wheels are already in motion for McGregor to get back into the Octagon.

“There’s been a lot of time leading up to this, especially once we knew how this thing was gonna play out for him in New York,” White said. “Yeah, I agree with what he said. We’re all in a good place.”