Dana White is optimistic that Conor McGregor, who has been sidelined since breaking his leg in July 2021 and subsequently engaging in other ventures, will make his UFC comeback early next year despite McGregor’s desire to return in December.
Dana White is inching closer to finalizing a return date for Conor McGregor’s much-anticipated comeback.
Tuesday marks exactly 38 months since McGregor’s last fight—a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. That bout was marred by McGregor breaking his leg, sidelining him for an extended period and raising questions about his competitive future.
Since then, McGregor has kept busy with various ventures. He starred in the 2024 hit movie Road House and took on an executive role in the fast-rising BKFC promotion. Although he was slated to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this past June, he withdrew due to injury. Now, UFC CEO Dana White is optimistic about a return early next year.
“Let me tell you this,” White told New York Post Sports. “I was the one this year saying I don’t think he’s going to fight this year, amid all the talk and everything else.”
White continued, “Even the fight being set up in the press conference… Conor McGregor will fight next year, early 2025. 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.”
If McGregor steps back into the octagon as planned, he’ll be seeking his first win since a quick knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020. Since then, he has suffered consecutive losses to Poirier.
Despite frequently mentioning a desire to fight in December, White has remained firm that it’s unlikely we’ll see McGregor return soon. In August, he reiterated that the former two-division champion will not fight this year.
“We talked,” White said following an episode of Dana White’s Contender Series on Aug. 13. “We didn’t meet up but we talked, and yeah, he wants to fight. So we’ll figure it out.”
“[But] not this year. He won’t fight this year,” White concluded.
Shortly after, McGregor responded in a now-deleted tweet: “Ah Dana, December is the date! 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!”