
Dana White provides damning update on Conor McGregor's UFC future
Dana White has provided little cause for optimism regarding a potential UFC return for Conor McGregor.
McGregor, 36, hasn't competed in MMA since suffering back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021, but was on the cusp of a return after agreeing to square off against long-time rival Michael Chandler at UFC 303.
That was until McGregor broke his toe just two weeks out from the hotly-anticipated headliner, forcing the fight to be called off.
The Irishman has since gone quiet on when he was next fighting next, turning his focus to politics after vowing to run for Ireland's presidency in March.
And now, White has confirmed that McGregor is further away from a UFC comeback than ever.
'He's not fighting anytime soon,' White said in a streetside interview with Adam Glyn. 'I haven't talked to him in a minute. But I don't know.'
McGregor has become increasingly vocal about issues out of the Octagon and embarked on a much-publicised visit to the White House on St Patrick's Day to air grievances over immigration in Ireland, pleading for help from the US.
It comes after a civil-court jury found he had raped a woman in Dublin in 2018. McGregor, who denied a claim that he 'brutally raped and battered' the woman, said he would appeal the verdict, which required him to pay over £200,000 in damages.
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Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump adds Ireland to trade ‘blacklist'
Donald Trump has added Ireland to the White House's official blacklist of countries for the nation's trade surplus with the US. Ireland joins fellow new entrant Switzerland in the US treasury's bad books, on a list that includes regular US targets including China, Japan, Germany, Vietnam and South Korea. Appearing on the watchlist puts Ireland, whose dominant industries are pharmaceuticals and technology, at the front of the queue of countries likely to attract Mr Trump's ire. If escalated, it can open the door to tariffs and other sanctions. The US president has previously singled out Ireland as a country whose trade surplus hurts the US economy. 'We do have a massive deficit with Ireland, because Ireland was very smart. They took our pharmaceutical companies away,' he told Micheál Martin, the Irish Taoiseach, in the Oval Office in March. He even considered putting a 200pc tariff on US pharmaceutical imports from Ireland. 'We don't want to do anything to hurt Ireland. We do want fairness,' he said. Ireland's goods exports to the US surged by 49pc in the first quarter of 2025 from the same period a year earlier, the country's statistics office reported this week, as exporters scrambled to get shipments off before any of Mr Trump's tariffs kicked in. The export surge fuelled a 9.7pc bounce in Ireland's GDP in the first quarter. Irish exports are under dire threat from Mr Trump's potential tariff of 50pc on goods imports from the EU. Dublin and other European capitals are now sweating on Brussels' negotiations with Washington to avoid this levy hitting the bloc in early July. On Friday, the German central bank warned that if the two sides did not strike a deal, Europe's biggest economy would remain mired in recession until 2027. German data issued on Friday showed a 1.4pc drop in factory output in April and a 10.3pc slump in German exports to the US from a month earlier, as pre-tariff, front-end loading of trans-Atlantic shipments came to a halt. The two sides' trade negotiators met in Paris this week. Maros Sefcovic, the EU trade commissioner, said afterwards that talks were 'advancing in the right direction at pace', while Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, declared himself 'pleased that negotiations are advancing quickly'. They have slightly more than four weeks until the expiry of a 90-day pause on Mr Trump's tariffs on July 9. The president has frequently expressed hostility towards the EU over its trade policies, but was peaceable towards a visiting Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, at a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday. 'We'll end up hopefully with a trade deal,' he told reporters. 'I'm OK with the tariffs, or we make a deal with the trade.' The US treasury's report on Friday – a twice-yearly 'Monitoring List of major trading partners whose currency practices and macroeconomic policies merit close attention' – had some advice for both Germany and Ireland. Dublin was urged to focus on boosting activity in its domestic economy', to help Ireland 'address its over-reliance' on export-focused multinational companies. Berlin was told that Germany's unbalanced trade with the US was caused by German businesses and consumers failing to open their wallets and spend their savings.


Times
an hour ago
- Times
Trump-Elon Musk fallout: president shuns call with ex-ally — latest
Elon Musk's posts on X attacking Trump were 'surprising and disappointing', Mike Johnson, the House speaker, said. Johnson told CNBC in an interview on Friday that he was with the president as the fight was unfolding on social media, and that the president was 'disappointed'. Referring to Musk's criticism of the One Big Beautiful Bill, Johnson said: 'I don't argue with him about how to build rockets, and I wish he wouldn't argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it.' The speaker also played down Musk's claims that he had been responsible for the Republican Party's election victories in November. 'Elon was a big contributor in the last election, but this was a whole team effort,' Johnson said. 'I mean, President Trump is the most consequential political figure of his generation, of modern American history. He is the one responsible for that.' Trump is expected to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night, according to a report. The president is a longtime fan of mixed martial arts and a close friend of Dana White, the UFC chief executive. In November, Trump sat ringside at a UFC event at Madison Square Garden in New York with Elon Musk and Kid Rock, the singer and Trump ally. Saturday's UFC 316 will feature a five-fight main card headlined by a title rematch between current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, of Georgia, and the American former champion Sean O'Malley. Attention is turning to how Trump could retaliate against Musk. He said yesterday that 'the easiest way to save money in our budget' would be to cut all federal contracts with Musk's companies, which were promised about $3 billion in government contracts last year. Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser, said on his War Room podcast that Trump should take control of SpaceX through legislation from the Korean war that allows the president emergency authority to seize control of domestic industries. Bannon also urged the president to investigate Musk's drug use and his efforts to be briefed on classified military plans involving China. He further called on Trump to revoke Musk's security clearance and begin deportation proceedings against the South African-born Tesla chief executive, who has been a naturalised US citizen for more than two decades. • Musk 'took so much ketamine campaigning it damaged his bladder' Tesla shares rose by more than 6 per cent at the opening bell today, after the electric vehicle company shed more than 14 per cent on Thursday, losing more than $150 billion in market value. Trump threatened to slash all government contracts held by Musk as they exchanged insults yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all rose by just under 1 per cent after the US added 139,000 jobs in May. Errol Musk, the father of Elon, has described the feud between his son and Donald Trump as 'over the top', likening it to a clash between 'gorillas' fighting for dominance. Musk, 79, advised his 'alpha' son, 53, to accept that the president was the more dominant of the two and would 'win this round'. 'In any successful group of animals, whether gorillas, elephants or human beings, the dominant males will always fight for dominance,' Musk said, predicting that an eruption of bitter exchanges between two of the world's most powerful men 'would now fizzle out'. • Read in full: Errol Musk weighs in Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, has weighed in on the Trump-Musk row with an apparent joke. 'We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D [Donald] and E [Elon] for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment,' Medvedev said, referring to Musk's satellite company. 'Don't fight, guys!' Musk insinuated yesterday that Trump was withholding files related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring because they implicated the president. How did Trump and Epstein really know each other? JD Vance, the vice-president, has pushed back on claims that Trump's feud with Musk was rash or ill-planned. 'There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he's impulsive or short-tempered,' Vance wrote on X. 'Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that's ridiculous. It's (maybe) the single biggest disconnect between fake media perception and reality.' Late on Thursday night, Vance voiced his support for the president in his battle with Musk, saying he was 'proud to stand beside him'. Trump is planning to sell off or give away the red Tesla Model S that he bought from Elon Musk after he showcased five of his vehicles at the White House in March, according to Fox News. Trump said he paid by cheque for the car, which has been visible in the car park at the White House complex and was used by various members of his staff. 'The one I like is that one and I want the same colour,' he said, pointing at the model during an event on March 11 that drew alarm at a sitting president using the trappings of office to promote a private company. The Model S is listed on the Tesla website for $73,490, or $88,490 for the all-wheel-drive Model S Plaid. • Read more: Trump backs Musk by buying a Tesla (that he can't drive) Trump has torn down every opponent who has stood in the way of his political ambitions. In Musk, he may have met his match. The formidable powers that these two American titans can bring to bear in a full-throated feud suggest that a truce is the most sensible outcome. But sense was in short supply during a pyrotechnic clash of planetary-sized egos this week that may have ramifications far beyond terrestrial confines and reach into both men's ambitions to conquer space. • Read David Charter's analysis in full Trump will not be speaking to Musk for a while, CNN reported after speaking to the president, dampening speculation of a potential peace-making call today. 'I am not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem,' Trump told the broadcaster in a phone call, it reported. But he 'wishes Elon well', CNN reported. President Trump has shown little interest in responding to Elon Musk's overtures to reach a truce. The two men torched their previously close relationship in a few short hours on Thursday in an escalating war of words conducted on their social media networks Truth Social and X. Musk is said to have sought a phone call with Trump to try to smooth over their differences. However, Trump told ABC News's Jonathan Karl that he was 'not particularly interested' in speaking to Musk and that the South African-born billionaire was 'a man who lost his mind'.


BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Sinn Féin calls for vacant council houses to be made available within 12 weeks
Sinn Féin has called for local authorities to be given powers that would see council homes made available to move into within 12 weeks of becoming vacant. New figures show that at least one in every four boarded up council home has been empty for longer than 12 months. Advertisement The figures released to Sinn Féin's Thomas Gould show that 38 per cent of those vacant longer than 12 months have been empty for more than two years. Over 750 council homes across the state have been boarded up for over a year. This is shameful. We must fight back together against FF & FG, demand investment in our communities, and ensure everyone has a safe, secure & affordable place to call home. — Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) June 6, 2025 There are currently more than 750 council homes across Ireland which have been boarded up for more than a year. Mr Gould, the party's spokesman on Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Planning, Public Realm and Local Government, said there are thousands of homes that have been boarded up for three to four years, with some homes lying empty for eight years. Limerick, Wicklow, Tipperary and Louth have council homes boarded up for the longest time periods, while Donegal, Cork City and Limerick have the highest levels of vacant stock. Advertisement Mr Gould said the average re-letting times vary across the state. 'Why are local authorities boarding up houses? When a family moves out, (and) if that house is (in) a decent condition, let's put a family straight in. Let's not board it up. Let's put people in there. 'Instead, it's being boarded up, waiting for the Department of Housing to give money in 12 months' time, and then taking another six months for procurement to do it up. 'We want to get every house returned within 12 weeks. We think 12 gives time for local authorities to repair the house and get them out again. Advertisement 'Local authorities are only getting 11,000 euros for each unit to be turned around, when the average cost last year was 28,000.' He added: 'This is a scandal when we're in the middle of the worst housing crisis in the history of the state, and what we are trying to do is bring forward solutions. 'This in itself won't solve the housing crisis, but what it would do, is could release thousands of homes that would help to house people who are homeless, but also take people out of the rental market. 'So this will have a domino positive effect from homeless services to social housing to rent. Advertisement '(We) want local authorities, rather than waiting for the department to give sanctions, that local authorities would be able to work returning homes all year long, and not just waiting for once or twice a year for the government to give sanctions.' He called for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to bring in a 'proper procedure' to address long-term vacant homes. Mr Gould said boarded-up houses have 'devastating effects' on communities. 'Families are coming out every day and looking at them, they're magnets for anti social-behaviour, the magnets for dumping,' he added. Advertisement Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs spent almost €1.4m o... Read More 'They just drag down the whole environment of really good communities, and it's about time now the Government stepped up. 'We are bringing forward a solution. We hope the Government will take it on board, because we think it makes sense.' The Department of Housing has been contacted for comment.