Dana White says Conor McGregor will determine his comeback opponent.
The former dual-weight champion has been sidelined ever since he broke his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
McGregor vs Chandler was first announced in February 2023Getty
Michael Chandler was supposed to welcome him back to the Octagon at UFC 303 in June – but McGregor suffered a pinky toe injury and withdrew from the contest.
Rather than wait for a ‘Red Panty Night’ with the UFC’s biggest star, Chandler has decided to take a fight with former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira instead.
They’ll clash at UFC 309 on November 16. ‘Iron Mike’ remains confident he’ll fight McGregor after Oliveira, but White says the Irishman’s comeback opponent will be decided by one key factor.
“It’s going to be determined by when Conor comes back, who the opponent is,” the UFC CEO said during a Q&A in Dublin, Ireland ahead of Callum Walsh’s latest boxing bout.
“Whenever Conor is ready, and he comes back…
“He hit me up last night when he heard that I was here.
“He’s in New York right now and he’s training.”
McGregor has always insisted that he’s ready to fight in 2024.
However, White disagreed and recently delayed his return until next year.
The two appeared to have fallen out when McGregor snubbed UFC 306 by failing to mention the most expensive show in company history.
Chandler has opted to take a rematch with OliveiraGetty
White says McGregor’s return timeline will determine his comeback opponentGetty
Instead, he said ‘the fights of the weekend’ were at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the fledgling combat sports league he recently became a co-owner of.
Things appear friendlier between McGregor and White right now.
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old threw his support behind White’s venture into boxing and implored his 47 million Instagram followers to watch Walsh take on Przemyslaw Runowski.
McGregor wrote along footage of him boxing sparring: “Dana White my man good luck with ‘King’ Callum Walsh this [Friday] in Dublin, Ireland!
“It’s always awesome to have Dana back in Ireland! Callum is a good puncher and a slick boxer, and this is a good test he has this weekend!
“I got some good rounds in with a young American Irish lad recently, No.8 ranked in the USA at Light Heavyweight, Sean O’Bradaigh, he caught me some nice shots and I caught him this tasty back hand hook as well!
“Enjoy! Yup the Irish! Yup the Americans! BIG BOXING CARD THIS WEEKEND IN DUBLIN IRELAND CALLUM WALSH DANA WHITE BOXING GET TO THE POINT DEPOT AND SUPPORT AND ENJOY! Good luck Callum Walsh.”
