UFC CEO Dana White finally addressed the elephant in the room with UFC Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev: his decision not to fight at UFC 336 against Carlos Prates in Toronto, Canada.

It is a bit more complicated than most realize, according to a scrum White did in Las Vegas to promote his PBR bull, "Dana White's Playmate," Wednesday afternoon.

Dana White Clarifies Islam Makhachev Dropping Out of UFC 336

White said the Makhachev-Prates fight, which would have been the main event of a still-on championship doubleheader featuring UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van against Manel Kape (now the main event), was at the finish line.

White explained that the wheels were in motion, with bout agreements to come as Russia's Makhachev had "verbally agreed" to face the Brazilian contender.

But talks fell apart, which saw the UFC pivot toward an interim title fight between Prates and unbeaten Ecuador native Michael Morales.

Although a visibly-frustrated White is moving ahead with the fight - fight where the winner will be tasked with fighting Makhachev for the undisputed title - the sequence of events re-emphasized White's biggest gripe: current UFC champions should try their hardest to stay active, regardless of opponent.

White was asked why some champions are less active than others, keeping his response heavily-simplified.

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“I think it’s money; I mean, once you get so much money. When guys are young and hungry, they want to fight a lot because they want to get paid," White said.

White added he'd prefer if his champions, regardless of the current MMA landscape, could fight two or three times per year.

"But once you start to get enough money, you don’t have to fight all the time," White concluded.

It's unclear whether White has changed his tune about Makhachev's decision-making, but did reiterate that the winner, when the timing aligns, will finally fight Makhachev.

Prates, too, had been planning for the Makhachev fight.

"He comes out saying he wants to be an active champion, this and that," Prates told Laerte Viana. "Hunter [Campbell] even said that date was reserved for him. Then he just came out and said he didn't want it. He chickened out."

Prates said he quickly moved past the idea of fighting Makhachev in January. Rather, he admitted Morales is just another opportunity to accomplish his long-term goals.

"The situation I'm in now is that I have to beat Morales and win the interim belt," Prates added. "I'm going to focus on him, then I'm going to come back and beat Makhachev twice as hard just to teach him a lesson and make him stop being such a p****."

We'll see how the fight plays out, taking place at the UFC's first event at Scotiabank Arena since Jan. 2024.