Conor McGregor tweets he's back on UFC 200, but White says it's untrue
Conor McGregor has once again gotten the mixed martial arts world buzzing with a tweet. This time, the UFC featherweight champion has tweeted that he is back on the UFC 200 card, only three days after UFC president Dana White officially ruled him out because he did not show up in Las Vegas for promotional activities related to the summer blockbuster card.
At about 2 a.m. ET on Monday, McGregor continued his pattern of issuing a single tweet and then going silent. In this one, he thanks White and UFC chairman for fixing the issue and making certain that he's back on the blockbuster summer card, which will be July 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200!
Shout out to @danawhite and @lorenzofertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 25, 2016
It appears McGregor's tweet was simply about leverage. White told Yahoo Sports, "It's not true. We haven't talked to Conor or his manager since the press conference. I don't know why he would tweet that."
At a news conference in Las Vegas on Friday, White repeatedly said it wouldn't be fair to allow McGregor to compete after McGregor chose not to leave his training base in Iceland to shoot a commercial and participate in other promotional activities. McGregor has said he hasn't wanted to do so much promotional for the show because he wants to be prepared as best he can to avenge a March loss to Nate Diaz.
White said Saturday during a brief appearance at a post-UFC 197 news conference that Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier would headline UFC 200 if Cormier's injured leg checks out. Cormier is supposed to have it examined Monday. Jones said he would be ready to compete in July.
McGregor appears to be trying to use pressure from the fan base to let him get his way. So far, the UFC isn't budging.