Dana White Breaks Silence on Conor McGregor’s UFC Future

UFC CEO Dana White has broken his silence on Conor McGregor’s fighting future, commenting on the 36-year-old for the first time since he lost a civil assault case in his native Ireland last month. As part of a statement addressing the matter, the former two-division world champion insisted that he was looking forward to getting “back to the fight game”.

Dana White Hints at it Being Far From Certain That McGregor Ever Returns to the UFC

‘The Notorious’ isn’t part of any upcoming UFC fight plans

Back in September, White emphatically told the New York Post: “Conor McGregor will fight next year, early 2025!” On Saturday night, the UFC boss was noticeably backtracking on that declaration, suggesting that he was unsure whether the promotion’s biggest-ever star would fight again.

White’s “if he fights again” caveat marks a significant shift in attitude when it comes to McGregor, with a 2025 appearance from the Irishman no longer considered to be as likely as it once was.

While McGregor may not be a part of the company’s plans currently, it is known that he still has two fights left on his current UFC deal – and is unlikely to be allowed to compete in any other combat sports discipline while that contract is active.

Inevitably, White was always going to be asked about the promotion’s plans for McGregor at the first available opportunity, which came at Saturday’s UFC 310 post-fight press conference in Las Vegas. Prior to the fighter’s recent legal issues, the 55-year-old boss had been upbeat about the chances of his fighting inside the Octagon in 2025.

McGregor hasn’t competed since losing to Dustin Poirier back in July 2021 at UFC 264, but was due to return to action against Michael Chandler in June at UFC 303. However, ‘The Notorious’ withdrew from that contest due to a broken toe and has been awaiting confirmation of a fresh fight date ever since.

According to White on Saturday night, though, his return to the UFC is far from a formality. Asked whether he had any comment to make on McGregor’s recent legal troubles, Dana was quick to state: “If I had a comment I would have put it out already.”

Conor has yet to respond to Dana’s comments, but was watching Saturday’s pay-per-view event as he took a shot at reigning welterweight champion Belal Muhammad after ‘Remember The Name’ was briefly denied access to the Octagon by security for a face-off with top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov as they didn’t appear to know who he was.

To date, McGregor has fought 14 times in the UFC Octagon, with his bouts ranking among some of the biggest in company history. Judging by White’s recent words, it remains to be seen if he will ever add to that tally.