Since June, Conor McGregor’s future in the UFC has been up in the air as he has been trying to return to the Octagon by the end of the year but he is seemingly being denied that wish by Dana White and other UFC higher-ups.
Just weeks out from his scheduled UFC 303 main event bout against Michael Chandler, McGregor suffered a toe injury which forced him to withdraw from the bout, making it the first time in his UFC career that he has pulled out of a fully announced and scheduled bout. The early talk following the injury to the Irishman’s toe was that he was hoping to get the fight rescheduled pretty much imminently and eyed a return date of around September. This, as we now know, hasn’t happened, which has led to McGregor publicly pleading with the UFC on social media many times to let him fight by the end of the year.
Recently, White confirmed that ‘The Notorious’ will not fight in 2024, which left many fans disappointed, but yesterday, in an interview with New York Post Sports, the UFC president revealed the targeted return timeline for McGregor.
Dana White Confirms Conor McGregor’s Return Timeline
The UFC president claims McGregor will return in “early 2025”
Conor McGregor finally has a targeted return date to the UFC. For months, UFC president Dana White has been reserved and cautious regarding an anticipated date for the Irishman, but in a new interview with New York Post Sports, White has finally revealed the targeted timeline for the superstar’s highly anticipated return.
“Conor McGregor will fight next year, early 2025.”
White has confirmed what has been rumoured for a few weeks now, that McGregor will return to the Octagon in early 2025. Last week, UFC Hall of Famer, Chael Sonnen, claimed he had “inside scoop” on McGregor’s situation with the UFC and revealed that they were in fact targeting him to return early next year, with UFC 311 in California being the ideal date and location.
As for who ‘The Notorious’ will face in his UFC return, that has not been revealed yet, but you would have to presume that the UFC would look to re-book the fight between McGregor and Chandler, as the latter has put his fighting career completely on hold for the past two years to pursue a huge-money fight against MMA’s biggest star.
Dana White Unsure Over Conor McGregor’s Hunger
The UFC president said “we’ll find out” when speaking on McGregor’s hunger ahead of his UFC return
In his early UFC career, Conor McGregor was seen as one of the hungriest, most determined, and mentally strong fighters on the planet, but since becoming a billionaire and having all the fame in the world, that hunger has seemingly declined and the Irishman does seem a lot less focused on his fighting career and instead seems more interesting in partying, living a lavish lifestyle and his business ventures.
Dana White seemed unsure about the Irishman’s hunger for his UFC return, saying “we’ll find out” if he still has it.
“And as far as he’s had so much time off, as far as the hunger, he’s a very wealthy guy, we’ll find out when he comes back but he is definitely one of the big superstars of the sport that has elevated the UFC throughout Europe and other parts of the world, he’s been a big star and a great partner for us.”
If McGregor can get even an ounce of the hunger and determination he once had back for his upcoming UFC return, he will absolutely be a threat to any fighter in the lightweight and welterweight divisions.
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