White: McGregor to vacate title if retirement holds

In this photo taken, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor talks with reporters during open workouts for UFC 196 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. McGregor takes on Nate Diaz in UFC 196 on Saturday. AP

Conor McGregor better shed light on his retirement prospects now, or else he has to vacate his UFC featherweight title.

UFC president Dana White aired his side on UFC Tonight on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) after the Irish fighter pulled himself out of what was already a set UFC 200 fightcard and announced his retirement on Twitter.

“It isn’t about whether or not Conor McGregor is fighting at UFC 200 because it’s been announced that he’s not fighting. The big question is if he’s retired because if he is, that belt is vacant,” he said.

McGregor stunned the world when he abruptly announced his retirement on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time). White further shed light on the issue when he said that the brash fighter refused to travel to Las Vegas for the card’s promotional materials.

He gave McGregor some time to think about his actions, but he has not heard from the 27-year-old since.

“For some reason, he didn’t want to do it. I literally tell our fighters that if they don’t (commit to promotional obligations), then they don’t fight,” said White.

Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar were booked to battle for the interim featherweight championship after “The Notorious” tested his resolve against a higher weight class and fought Nate Diaz at UFC 196. The two were supposed to have their rematch in the main event of the UFC 200 card.

White said that with the recent development, the Aldo-Edgar bout may now be for the undisputed title, if McGregor indeed holds on to his words. “If he is (retired), they will fight for the title,” he said.

However, White clarified that he had no ill feelings on McGregor, saying, “Conor is a guy who has stepped up to the plate for us when we needed him to and he did. So I didn’t want to go in there and say, ‘That’s it.'”

But he warned that there would be no easy way back for the retiring Irish if the itch to return to the Octagon comes.

“If Conor is truly retired, he would have to take four months off before he can come back because of United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA),” said White. “You can’t say you’re retired and not have random drug testing for however long you’re out and then decide that you want to come back.”