Conor McGregor holds the record for the highest-grossing Pay-per-view fights in the history of the UFC. However, his fight against Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was the biggest of them all. The animosity between the two UFC stars was evident throughout the build-up. As such, Dana White recently revealed that he faced some backlash for the Conor vs Khabib fight, especially the infamous bus incident involving McGregor and Nurmagomedov as a tool to promote his promotion’s biggest fight ever.

Things got a bit too real between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ had a confrontation with the Irishman’s teammate, Artem Lobov, to which McGregor retaliated by leading his team and attacking a bus, where Nurmagomedov was traveling along with his teammates. Dana White found himself in a bad predicament, following that act by ‘The Notorious’. However, the 54-year-old claimed that there was a bigger picture behind that incident.

Dana White was telling a story of the Conor McGregor and Khabib rivalry

The UFC CEO revealed that the media won’t let him relax after what Conor McGregor did to those people inside the bus. Many people were injured. In a conversation with Lex Fridman, Dana White said, “I was incredibly criticized for putting together the spot that had the scene with the bus in it… they [the media] were saying I was pandering to the violence that happened.

Nevertheless, Dana White claims that the incident was part of the build-up to the fight, the story between McGregor and Nurmagomedov.“I am telling you a story… of how we got here and how big this fight is and how bad the blood is between these guys,” Dana White told Lex Fridman. The 54-year-old also believes that they are the best at story-telling in the fight game.

“I think that’s what we do the best job at is telling the f***ing stories of why,” the UFC CEO further stated. Besides telling stories, there is another motive that Dana White has when it comes to promoting fights. That motive is to do better than his rivals. Dana White believes that with his roster in the UFC, several stories are yet to be told. His promotion did that with Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. The pair were involved in one of the biggest UFC rivalries in recent memory.

In addition to that, Dana White also claimed that the real reason behind his attempts to make UFC fights as interesting and engaging as possible is to compete with other promotions and other entities who compete with his product, especially on Saturdays. “There’s lots of stories that need to be told… Whatever takes your attention on a Saturday night is my competitor,” Dana White further stated. Like any other promoter, Dana White also wants to be on the top of the food chain regarding MMA and combat sports in general. But was all the trouble worth it? Surprisingly, it was.

In addition to that, Dana White also claimed that the real reason behind his attempts to make UFC fights as interesting and engaging as possible is to compete with other promotions and other entities who compete with his product, especially on Saturdays. “There’s lots of stories that need to be told… Whatever takes your attention on a Saturday night is my competitor,” Dana White further stated. Like any other promoter, Dana White also wants to be on the top of the food chain regarding MMA and combat sports in general. But was all the trouble worth it? Surprisingly, it was.

2.4 million PPV buys for Conor vs. Khabib

Conor McGregor pleaded no contest when he was put on trial for the bus incident on a count of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to five days of community service and had to attend anger management sessions. Nevertheless, he eventually came back to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the buzz among the crowd during the fight was undeniable.

As per reports, UFC 229 turned out to be the highest-grossing UFC PPV in history. The event sold over 2.4 million PPV buys worth $180 million. Khabib Nurmagomedov walked away with not only a win but a $6.6 million paycheck, but Conor McGregor had the upper hand when it came to the paycheck as he pocketed $50 million.

It is common knowledge that the bus incident did not seem to be a hindrance in making the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight a success but only added to the fiery buildup. Fans even asked for a rematch between the two superstars. But that does not look like a possibility, since both McGregor and Nurmagomedov are on different paths in their life.