UFC president Dana White has a theory as to why Conor McGregor remains on the UFC rankings.
McGregor has claimed to be retired from MMA competition. Despite this and having last competed as a welterweight back in January, McGregor is the number four-ranked UFC lightweight. McGregor hasn’t competed at 155 pounds since his Sept. 2018 submission loss to current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Dana White Talks Conor McGregor’s Place In UFC Rankings
White spoke to The Schmo and shared his theory as to why McGregor remains on the rankings, yet Henry Cejudo was out in short order (h/t BJPenn.com).
“That’s a very good point,” White said. “I don’t know the answer to this, but Cejudo probably dropped out of the USADA testing pool and Conor’s probably still in it.”
As mentioned, McGregor hasn’t competed since Jan. 2020. He earned a first-round TKO victory over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. The bout only lasted 40 seconds.
McGregor appeared eager to get back inside the Octagon. He wasn’t interested in waiting for a lightweight title bout and teased fighting in March. The “Notorious” one decided to retire instead, citing a lack of enticing options and the UFC’s decision to push back the lightweight title unification bout between Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje to the fall.
