UFC Head Dana White Throws Cold Water on Conor McGregor’s Return

In the words of the inimitable Lee Corso, when it comes to Conor McGregor’s comeback, not so fast, my friend.

On Thursday, McGregor teased his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, posting on social media that there were “real exciting times again in the UFC” and that he wanted to “get this show started.” Since then, UFC CEO and President Dana White told Adam Glyn on TikTok on Friday that this was not the case.

With a very succinct answer, the leader of the UFC brass suggested that McGregor was still going to be out of action for the foreseeable future

“He’s not fighting any time soon,” White stated. “I haven’t talked to him in a minute.”

McGregor was initially expected to compete at UFC 303 in June 2024 against Michael Chandler after coaching against him on the 31st season of "The Ultimate Fighter," only for an injury to eject him from the pairing. Since then, Chandler moved on with a pair of fights against Charles Oliveira and Paddy Pimblett.

The Irishman last competed in the Octagon in 2021, where he broke his leg facing Dustin Poirier in their rubber match. The pair of losses that year to Poirier—as he was also knocked out by “The Diamond” months before his leg snapped in their third fight—marked the first time that he had ever suffered consecutive losses. “Notorious” made his name by becoming a two-division champion in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, notably surrendering both belts before making a defense in either.

Since 2016, McGregor has only gotten his hand raised once in professional combat sports competition. After giving up his lightweight throne—one he earned by smashing Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205—he went over to boxing to test his meddle against Floyd Mayweather Jr. McGregor ultimately lost in the 10th round, marking his lone pro outing in the squared circle to date. In the cage, he came back and faced bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, getting submitted in the fourth frame for his old belt. The last time he won, he beat Donald Cerrone down in 40 seconds atop UFC 246 in 2020.

Outside of the UFC, McGregor purchased a stake in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where he has promoted the league with gusto while appearing at many of its events as of late. The Irishman has said publicly on multiple occasions that he wishes to compete inside of its confines before he hangs up his gloves altogether. He also floated that he was to box influencer KSI this summer, but that fell through when they could not agree on a contract.