White on McGregor’s return: When will ‘The Notorious’ fight again in the UFC?
The Irishman plans to return to the cage as soon as possible after breaking his toe, but will he be able to fight this summer?
Everybody was waiting for UFC 303 to happen on June 29, as its main event would see the much-anticipated return of the company’s most charismatic fighter, Conor McGregor. The Irishman was expected to get into the octagon again against Michael Chandler in one of the year’s most exciting fights.
However, everything changed when it was confirmed that the former simultaneous double champion broke his toe and couldn’t compete in the event, so UFC president Dana White had to make some quick replacements to offer fans a similar quality action for the last fight of the card.
The Notorious made a public appearance at the Bellator Dublin card Saturday to corner teammate Sinead Kavanagh, Asked about a return date, McGregor didn’t hesitate to share his will to get back to the cage soon.
“August, September … I’d love. I’m in recovery mode, it’s three weeks to the day, it happened three weeks ago today (...)”, he said.
White gives McGregor’s update: when will he return to the UFC?
McGregor wants to fight again soon, eyeing this summer as an ideal return. The Irishman last fought in July 2021, breaking his leg in his third fight against Dustin Poirier, so the Dublin native is ‘desperate’ to fight again, considering his last setback only days away from his clash against Chandler.
However, his return will have to wait. Dana White didn’t sound very optimistic when asked about McGregor’s return and admitted the fighter won’t fight again until he’s not fully fit again.
“I don’t know right now. Our schedule is laid out. We’ll see. I’m not doing anything until I know Conor is healthy. It’s not even worth talking about”.
“What about September? What about October? He’s not ready. So why even talk about that?”, White added.
White was also asked about the Irishman’s opponent, but unless there’s a major and unexpected change, it will be Chandler, who has been waiting for The Notorious for around one and a half years.