UFC legend insists 'there's hope' that Conor McGregor could return in December after latest cryptic Dana White comments

19/08/2024 23:29

Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback has been more delayed than almost any in history, and there is still no date after years of inactivity.

The Irishman was forced on to the sidelines when he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in the summer of 2021. He returned to training the following year, and signed up to face Michael Chandler at an unspecified date as early as February of 2023.

But after his return at UFC 303 in Las Vegas was finally booked for June, a broken toe scuppered plans and there has been no new date announced. Dana White first insisted he wouldn’t fight this year, but McGregor has publicly demanded he be given a December fight, leaving plans up in the air.

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Conor McGregor publicly disputes Dana White’s claim he won’t fight this year

Speaking after an episode of Contender Series earlier this month, Dana White declared that Conor McGregor wouldn’t be fighting within 2024. He claimed that the Irishman had spoke to him recently, and that a fight this year was not going to happen.

“We talked and he wants to fight,” White said when asked when McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the cage after over three years of inactivity. “We’ll figure it out. Not this year. He won’t fight this year.”

McGregor quickly disputed this claim, taking to social media to plead with his promoter for a fight on the expected UFC 310 card. “Ah Dana, December is the date,” he wrote.

“Bring the calendar year home with a winning event! Come on now, what’s this? I am off to altitude next month to prepare. December! Tell Dana and UFC we want December! We deserve December!”

Michael Chandler, whose last outing was in November of 2022 also against Poirier, is also keen to fight before year’s end. He believes UFC 310 is a perfect date, having given up almost two years of his career for this potential fight.

In a later interview, White was much more coy about the topic, telling Sportsnet: “You can imagine after I said that Conor was blowing me up going 'I'm definitely fighting this year.'

“When we get to a point where we're setting a fight and I believe that a Conor McGregor fight is going to happen, I will announce it. As of right now, I believe that Conor will not fight this year… Conor is saying he wants to fight in December. We'll see how it plays out.”  

UFC legend Daniel Cormier says latest Dana White comments indicate ‘hope’ for Conor McGregor comeback

Despite the lack of certainty, UFC legend Daniel Cormier believes that the way Dana White has spoken about McGregor indicates there is still a chance something happens. UFC 310 has been confirmed for the Irishman’s fighting home of Las Vegas, with no main event announced as yet.

And after listening to the changing tune of White in the recent interview, Cormier is more positive. Speaking on his show Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen on ESPN today, he explained his thought process to a more uncertain co-host.

“There’s no fight for that date, that December pay-per-view,” Cormier said. “You and I both know it’s one of the biggest ones of the year, it could not be bigger than Conor McGregor and it’s in Las Vegas which is where you generally keep Conor McGregor.

“When you listen to the boss [White], it’s in how he says things and you’ve kind of got to read in between the words and he says Conor isn’t fighting. But even him saying ‘we’re going to have to see’ tells you that there is hope.

“Every single time he says that, he is open to it. So he is not as closed to the idea as some may think, because I haven’t heard anything about a fight announcement, I haven’t heard anything about a potential December fight.”

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