UFC President Dana White has come forward to confirm that UFC superstar Conor McGregor was interested in fighting at UFC 222.
Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was initially set to face off against UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 222. However, Holloway was removed from the match up after suffering an injury.
Consequently, Edgar would go on to face Brian Ortega at the event. With that in mind, Conor McGregor first went to social media to claim that he attempted to lock in the empty co-main event slot against Frankie Edgar.
“I am fighting again. Period. I am the best at this.
I put my name forward to step in at UFC 222 to face Frankie Edgar when Max Holloway pulled out, but I was told there wasn’t enough time to generate the money that the UFC would need.
“I was excited about bouncing in last minute and taking out the final featherweight, without all the rest of the stuff that comes with this game. Please respect the insane amount of work outside the fight game that I have put in. On top of the fighting.
“I am here. It is on them to come and get me. Because I am here.
Yours sincerely, The Champ Champ”
Following the statement, Edgar’s manager would go on to criticize “Notorious” for the statement. “The Answer” would later refute that McGregor ever made the offer in the first place.
That being said, UFC President Dana White offered some insight into the situation following UFC 222. Speaking on the matter, White stated:
“It’s true. He did say ‘I’ll take that fight with Frankie Edgar’ but he’s not in that weight division and we had already made the fight [with Brian Ortega]. The fight was already made between Ortega and Frankie when Conor said ‘I’ll take that fight’. When he said he would take it, there was something like 24 days until the fight.
“Nothing about it made sense.”
