Dana White reveals his thoughts on why Conor McGregor is not as 'hungry' anymore (Video)

It's no secret that former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is on one of the worst patches of his once remarkable career. He's absent from the Octagon more often than active and he's only won a single fight since 2020 (and before that 2016).

When UFC CEO and president Dana White was asked about his star fighter's troubles, he had some theories about why McGregor appears to be so different these days.

“Here’s what happens, Piers, and you know this – I’m sure you’ve seen this with colleagues and friends and people that you know,” White said on Piers Morgan Uncensored. “Once a certain level of money is attained, to be the person that you were coming up, to be that hungry and work that hard and be that dedicated to the sport, or whatever craft it is you do, money changes everything. Conor McGregor has made that kind of money. It’s not a knock. It’s just a fact.

Conor McGregor will return 'next year' Dana White says

He continued saying, “When we sold the company in 2016, this was sort of a Microsoft of fighting. There were a lot of people that made a lot of money, and a lot of people left and they went and retired, or moved onto – you have to have a certain type of drive to make that kind of money, and you’ve seen guys in this sport when they make that kind of money, they’ll fight a lot less like Conor has, or they go on losing streaks because you are not that same person once you get that kind of money.”

McGregor has been sidelined with a serious leg injury which was suffered in his last fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He was expected to return this year against Michael Chandler but that has been delayed until next year, according to White.

“He is back in the gym. He’s training,” White said. “I expect to see Conor fighting next year.”