Dana White Expresses Strong Confidence in McGregor’s UFC Comeback
Dana White, UFC president, states he is extremely confident that Conor McGregor will return to the octagon this summer. The former two-division champion has not competed since fracturing his leg in the first round against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. McGregor’s most recent victory came six years ago, when he finished Donald Cerrone in under a minute.
McGregor was scheduled to face Michael Chandler two years ago but withdrew due to a training injury. Recent footage shows the Dublin fighter intensifying his training regimen amid speculation of an imminent return, potentially on July 11 during International Fight Week.
White’s Recent Comments on McGregor’s Timeline
Speaking to Jim Rome, White highlighted the positive status of McGregor’s relationship with the UFC. “We’re in a great place with Conor. I’m extremely confident that Conor will fight this year. I’m extremely confident that we’ll get him dialled in and ready to roll. He’s training, there’s footage out there of him in training right now. We haven’t announced anything yet. He’ll fight this summer. Let me just start there. He’ll fight this summer.”
McGregor had targeted a slot on next month’s White House card but was overlooked, with Ilia Topuria now set to defend his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in the main event. White remains optimistic despite past delays. “I thought it would happen last year. It didn’t,” he noted. “I’m extremely confident it will happen this summer. He seems motivated, he’s training. There are a lot of other great things going on behind the scenes that make me very confident he’ll fight this summer.”
Max Holloway Emerges as Top Potential Opponent
Former featherweight champion Max Holloway leads as the likely opponent for McGregor, marking a rematch 13 years after their first encounter, where McGregor won by decision. Holloway, who last fought in March against Charles Oliveira, losing the BMF title, eagerly anticipates the bout.
“I mean we have history,” Holloway told Paramount. “We fought a very long time ago. I told you guys, if somebody’s got one over me, I want to get him back. I’d love to get him back. With him having all this talk of coming back and everybody talking about how serious he actually is. It looks like he’s training and taking it and really wanting to come back to fight. It’s exciting. He looks hungrier. He looks super hungry. He just did a boxing exhibition not too long ago so that was pretty cool to see him. I would just like to get one back. It’s a huge fight. It’s a big fight. Anything with Conor McGregor is huge but having history with the dude, being able to get one back would be cool. I’ve got to get my get backs on one of the guys. If I can keep knocking down the list, that would be great.”
