Was the entire Conor McGregor vs.Khabib Nurmagomedov feud orchestrated by Dana White?
It’s hard to forget the lead up to the first Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight. Conor is well known for his trash talking at this point, but the former UFC Lightweight Champion seemingly turned into a full WWE villain during this feud. One of the most notable incidents was the bus attack at UFC 223 where Conor and over 20 men surrounded Khabib’s bus as it was leaving and he threw a dolly at the window, shattering the glass. But the rivalry only got heated from there.
There was so much heat between these two fighters that Khabib beating Conor wasn’t enough as Khabib jumped out of the cage and a huge brawl started with him and Conor’s cornerman. It was one of the wildest feuds in the UFC and according to Khabib himself, Dana White was the man who built it up. The former UFC Lightweight Champion revealed that information on Hustle Show (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting):
Host (Adam Zubairev): I heard [UFC executive] Hunter [Campbell] was the one who built up the hype for your fight with Conor.
Nurmagomedov: Hunter might not like hearing this, but it was Dana White who built that fight up.
Zubairev: What I mean is, it was all set up like that. That whole bus incident, for example, they basically opened the door for him. They gave him access everywhere.
Nurmagomedov: It was all Dana’s doing.
Zubairev: He did it well, though. Looking back now, you get it.
Nurmagomedov: I even told him he did a good job. ‘Good job, Dana.’ Not just him. Hunter alone wouldn’t have been enough. They were all involved.
Now Dana White has yet to respond to Khabib’s claims, though the man isn’t particularly known as a liar. Given how the entire build for Khabib/McGregor went, it wouldn't be surprising if Dana constructed the entire feud leading up to their main event at UFC 229.
Khabib doesn’t talk about whether the brawl following his bout against McGregor was also scripted, but I think that his frustration with everything leading to the event just simply boiled over to the insanity that will be remembered for years to come. But that's just speculation on my end. It should be interesting to see if Conor responds to these claims.
Do you believe that Dana White orchestrated the build to UFC 229?