UFC Boss Dana White Admits to Being ‘Nervous’ at First Conor-Khabib Press Conference
The most anticipated press conference of 2018 took place approximately two weeks ago, and it went off without a hitch.
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“It’s intense and a lot of people were telling me it’s the first time they’ve seen me look really nervous up there,” White said on “The Jim Rome Show” Tuesday. “I was so nervous that something was gonna explode.”
The last time Nurmagomedov and McGregor were in the same building
in New York, things didn’t go as smoothly. Prior to UFC 223 in
April, McGregor hurled a dolly through a bus window carrying
fighters and employees — including Nurmagomedov. As a result,
Michael
Chiesa and Ray Borg were
injured and had to withdraw from the event. McGregor was arrested
and went through the legal process, eventually avoiding jail time
with a plea deal.
At the press conference, White said the UFC did everything the could to keep tension to a minimum.
“We did all the right things,” he said. “We didn’t even let fans come in. We only let their managers come into the room, none of their entourage. I was trying to do everything right to make sure that nothing happened at that press conference in New York and there were a few moments I thought they would.”
The lack of fans in attendance made for something of a subdued atmosphere in the venue, but McGregor was still in prime form. White believes the Irishman got under Nurmagomedov’s skin a little bit during the proceedings.
“Conor is the absolute best of all time at the mental warfare game. He gets in people’s heads,” White said. “You could tell right away Khabib said, ‘I’m not gonna play this game with this guy. I expected this.’ And then five minutes later he’s screaming and yelling back at Conor. Conor’s the best at getting you out of your mental game.”
Nurmagomedov will defend his lightweight crown against McGregor in the UFC 229 headliner on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The evening’s main card is available on pay-per-view. The two fighters will participate in another press conference on Thursday at Park Theater in Las Vegas at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
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