Ahead of the UFC’s first event of the year, and more importantly the first event with their new broadcast partner in Paramount, company CEO Dana White has been doing the media rounds and changed his stance on the biggest question in the sport.

🚨 Dana White says he is NOT interested in booking Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler at the UFC White House card 😬

"That was a couple years ago. No."

(via @Complex) pic.twitter.com/Tirsmy5PJA

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 15, 2026

For the past several months since it was announced, the UFC boss has been asked at nearly every media appearance about the event being held at the White House later this year. Specifically, which fights will be on the card and of course which matchup will get the honor of headlining the seminal event. The frontrunner has been the the sport’s biggest mainstream star Conor McGregor taking on his opposing coach from The Ultimate Fighter reality series Michael Chandler. In interviews throughout 2025, White made several comments acknowledging McGregor’s commitment to being on the card and saying how he can count on McGregor with such a responsibility as opposed to another superstar in Jon Jones.

However, in an interview Thursday morning with Matt Welty of Complex, White was asked once again about McGregor vs Chandler headlining the event. Specifically, Welty asked “I know there’s all that talk of Michael Chandler and Conor, do you see that as a realistic thing?” to which White responded “No. That was a couple years ago.”

When Welty followed up “So that’s nothing you’d entertain for the White House?” White reiterated. “No. No.”

Considering the amount of attention on the event since nearly a year out from the date, many have felt that the addition of a superstar like McGregor or Jones (perhaps even both) to the card would make it potentially one of the most viewed events in UFC history. When Jones reportedly turned down a record $30 million for a fight with Tom Aspinall that was verbally agreed to, it appeared that White and the UFC were moving forward in favor of McGregor taking the spot by himself. Further, the idea of McGregor headlining the event was bolstered considering he was invited to the office and even spoke with the White House press while there which seemed to indicate he was in the place where he’d be favored to get the privilege.

Should White stand by these most recent comments as the event draws nearer, it is now anyone’s guess who they might choose to headline their most talked about card in years.

The post Dana White Says He’s Not Interested in McGregor vs Chandler at the White House Anymore appeared first on Cageside Press.

At UFC 225 this past Saturday, Colby Covington utilized inhuman cardio and pushed a flyweight-like pace to defeat Rafael dos Anjos and capture the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship via unanimous decision. Covington has now won six straight fights in the UFC welterweight division, and guaranteed himself a unification bout with current UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley – which will most likely take place this fall barring  injury to either man.

Colby even laid claim to the President’s desk in his post-fight interview, and again on Instagram after the fight. Adding fuel to the fire, Dana White said at the UFC 225 post-fight press conference that he could make a visit to The White House happen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj1ZSjkh7vy/?hl=en&taken-by=colbycovmma

This Monday on the MMA Hour Ariel Helwani actually told Covington that President Trump was aware of the new Welterweight Interim Champion, which caused Colby to invite the entirety of the Philadelphia Eagles to American Top Team in order to ‘teach them respect.’

When asked about his fight upcoming fight with Tyron Woodley, Covington was confident that the champion wouldn’t be able to keep up with his cardio: “He’s a two-pump chump. He won’t last more than two rounds.”

“No one wants to watch the human form of NyQuil” he said of Woodley’s performances.

Calling Woodley’s belt “fool’s gold,” Covington said of the possibility of fighting the champion that “either he runs away to Hollywood, and he goes and does these stupid back-up little rap videos in the back of stupid Wiz Khalifa’s things, I mean go listen to those, it’s like listening to a chalk board. Or, he lets me embarrass him in front of the whole world.”

For his efforts at UFC 225, Covington earned $380,000 ($350,000 in show money, $30,000 in fight week bonuses) and even though he was in one of the best fights of the night, performance bonuses for the night went to UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker, who won an extra $100,000 for his victory over Yoel Romero, and both Charles Oliveira and Curtis Blaydes earned $50,000 for their efforts on the prelims.

Woodley wouldn’t remain silent for long, as he immediately called the new interim champion out on various social media platforms:

Tyron Woodley conducted an Instagram live stream and went off on Colby Covington. Here's a portion of the opening quote:
"I ain't never in my life, I ain't never in my career, I ain't never in my existence as an adult human being wanted to f*** somebody up so bad…" pic.twitter.com/GAA4z8RXSa

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) June 11, 2018

“I’m going to try to hurt him so f****** bad they’re never going to want to let me fight in the UFC again, that’s a fact,” said Woodley on his Instagram live stream.

Get this bitch ready! @ufc @danawhite hit my line now! pic.twitter.com/6gzKwyvKpH

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) June 10, 2018

“Our sport has been so dead that (everybody) they want to believe in the hype,” Woodley added. So, it looks like Woodley vs. Covington will be quite the grudge match, then.

The post Colby Covington on Tyron Woodley: Either He Runs Away, Does Rap Videos, or Lets Me Embarrass Him In Front of the Whole World appeared first on Cageside Press.