Dana White, the head of UFC, promises that Conor McGregor will make his anticipated return next year. But don’t get your hopes up too high. White also let slip that he’s cooking up a massive match that doesn’t include the Irish superstar. Yeah, you heard that right. It seems the return of McGregor isn’t the only big event we have to look forward to.
McGregor, with his 22-6 fight record, has been MIA from the rink since he suffered a broken leg in a clash against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. However, he did make a little detour and featured as Michael Chandler’s rival coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31. There was considerable chatter about a subsequent match between the two, but that’s up in the air now. Although McGregor hopped back into the United States Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool, hoping for a return in April 2024, his coach, John Kavanagh, revealed he’s unlikely to reappear before summer.
So, what then? According to White, he assured fans of McGregor’s 2024 comeback, but he remains tight-lipped about McGregor’s potential adversary. During an appearance on the Full Send Podcast, White also mentioned Chandler’s ability to lay low without competing for a year as he waits for McGregor. As he so eloquently put it, “The good thing for guys like Chandler…you don’t see these guys hurrying up to fight… Chandler can hang out and wait for f*cking Conor.”
Despite a bit of a bumpy ride in his career lately, with only one win out of his last four, McGregor continues to be highly sought after. No surprise there, a showdown with Dubliner typically equals a hefty paycheck. But White’s got another card up his sleeve. He let slip about a potential ‘super fight’ in the making that doesn’t include the shining star of the industry. He told his listeners, “We’re talking about one right now, actually, that just popped up a few days ago. I can’t talk about it until we get everybody…well, every fight that you would consider a ‘super fight’ would involve McGregor but this one isn’t, no.” Well, that’s definitely got us on the edge of our seats.