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Conor McGregor’s name has been synonymous with ‘super fights’ in the UFC for the past seven years. ‘The Notorious’ does have a strong drawing power, and having him matched up against another big name is almost a guaranteed PPV blockbuster.
But according to CEO Dana White, the UFC’s upcoming super fight won’t involve the company’s biggest star.
Conor McGregor won’t be part of the UFC’s next super fight
White was a recent guest on the Full Send podcast, where he addressed a question about the UFC’s upcoming super fight.
“We’re talking about one right now, actually, that just popped up a few days ago. I can’t talk about it, ’til we get everybody involved.”
He then gave a straight answer about Conor McGregor’s possible involvement.
“Every fight that you would consider a super fight would involve McGregor, but this one isn’t,” White said while confirming that the former ‘champ-champ’ will fight in 2024, ‘hundred percent.’
Is McGregor vs. Michael Chandler still on the table?
The last talked about matchup for the Irishman is against Michael Chandler, whom he coached against in the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter. It was a pairing intended for 2023, but nothing materialized, mainly due to drug testing issues.
White didn’t give specifics as to whether or not the fight is still on, but he expressed excitement over it.
“When you actually think about the fight, Chandler-Conor is a fun f—ng fight. Fun fight. Tell me the last boring fight Chandler was in. Even going back to Bellator. He was in exciting fights in Bellator, too.”
White says Chandler gets to enjoy the luxury of dictating the pace of his career.
“The good thing for guys like Chandler — and there’s a lot of s— talk about fighter pay and all that other s—. You don’t see these guys hurrying up to fight.
“Jon Jones takes off for f—ng years, Chandler can hang out and wait for f—ng Conor.
“When you think about Chandler… Chandler was fighting in f—ng Bellator. Now, Chandler can just sit around, take his time, and wait for Conor, however long it takes.
“These guys are all in good positions where they can wait for the right time, right fight.”
Current updates on Conor McGregor’s UFC return
What’s made certain, so far, is Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC’s drug testing pool, which is step one to his return. But as far as the comeback date goes, that remains up in the air.
Initial conversations were all about a UFC 300 appearance in April 2024, but that is looking bleak at the moment.
McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, addressed the situation in a recent guest appearance on the MMA Hour.
“We were hoping for April. That was the hope. That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime.
“I don’t know [why]. That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forth [about] today.”
Kavanagh also gave a bit of an update regarding McGregor’s current mental state, which he says worries him.
“Well, I was [worried about his mental health] too, I’m not going to lie. But hearing him today, he’s out there finding this great group of training partners — at least he’s doing that.
“Hey, it’s not quite the same as getting in to compete in front of a large crowd, but at least he’s getting training in, and that’s so important.
“We heard Volk talk about that, ‘Keep me busy,’ and all that. So I love to hear that he’s training hard with these guys.”
The 35-year-old McGregor (22-6) hasn’t seen action since 2021, when he lost via TKO to Dustin Poirier. Both men have expressed openness for a fourth fight.