Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White has ruled out any possibility of Conor McGregor fighting on the UFC 200 card, despite the Irish fighter backtracking on his ‘retirement’ and saying he was still training to face Nate Diaz.
McGregor was due to face Diaz in a welterweight rematch on July 9 but was pulled from the card in Las Vegas after he refused to travel to Nevada for promotional appearances.
McGregor, who surged through the featherweight ranks before knocking out champion Jose Aldo of Brazil in 13 seconds in December, has become the UFC’s hottest property with his outrageous trash-talking and vicious fighting skills.
White acknowledged McGregor’s importance to the UFC but said he would not be fighting on the card.
“I want him to fight, but it’s not right,” White said. “Conor has a huge fan base, people love to see him fight. But UFC 200 is going to go on (without him).”
Earlier in the week, the Irishman criticised the media circus surrounding the sport and hinted at retirement, before later clarifying that he planned to continue fighting.
On his Facebook page, McGregor said the promotional and media obligations had become a distraction.
“I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting,” he said. “There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.”
Diaz, who stunned McGregor in their fight in March, said he was not interested in meeting anyone else and would instead go “on vacation”.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
