Dana White says Conor McGregor’s leak of private DMs broke ‘man code’

ABU DHABI – Dana White says Conor McGregor has violated the “man code.”

A day after McGregor leaked previously private direct message conversations the two had in early 2020, MMA Junkie asked White his thoughts at the UFC 253 post-fight news conference.

“Listen, I’ve had people blowing me up left and right,” White said. “Everybody here knows, even the ladies. This is some man code stuff, you know? It’s just something you don’t do. It’s one of the dirtiest things you can do.”

McGregor’s screenshots were written in an attempt to prove he was willing and able to fight earlier this year. The texts displayed McGregor discussing potential a matchup against Justin Gaethje as well as serving as a fill-in fighter for the then-scheduled UFC lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

The discussed topic that seemingly bothered White the most, however, was longtime UFC fighter Diego Sanchez. In the conversation, White had denied McGregor’s request to fight Sanchez in a May main event in Los Angeles, saying the UFC would lose its promoter’s license if it was booked.

“We were just talking about Diego Sanchez,” White said, shortly after discussing how much respect he had for the only remaining “TUF 1” alumnus on the UFC roster. “Diego Sanchez is in there in a private conversation I was having with Conor. When you’re the No. 2 or 3 ranked guy in the world and you’re telling me you want to fight but you want to fight unranked, 39-year-old Diego Sanchez in a main event in Los Angeles – no.”

Sanchez fought Saturday and lost to Jake Matthews by unanimous decision. Sanchez has gone 3-2 in his most recent five outings.

UFC 253 took place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

Check out Dana White’s full UFC 253 post-fight news conference in the video above.