Conor McGregor’s return to MMA has been delayed once again.
The former dual-weight champion hasn’t fought since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout against his bitter rival Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Ever since, he’s been talking up his comeback, which was supposed to see him face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June – but the Irishman withdrew after suffering a toe injury in training.
Now he’s without an opponent after Chandler agreed to face Charles Olvieira at UFC 309, and facing many more months on the sidelines after Dana White’s latest update.
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Dana White shares Conor McGregor comeback update
Conor McGregor pushed to fight at UFC 310 on December 7, and when that didn’t come off it seemed certain that the 36-year-old would headline one of the first UFC pay-per-views of 2025.
However, his boss says it’s likely that McGregor won’t return during the first half of the year.
The UFC CEO expects his biggest star to fight towards the end of 2025.
White told Jim Rome on Thursday: “That’s a fun fight. I think Conor and Chandler both like that fight.
“When Conor comes back, which I see being sometime the later part of next year, we’ll see where everybody’s at and what’s going on and we’ll figure out who faces Conor.
“That’s why everybody was so excited about it. Chandler and Conor McGregor is a fun fight.
“It’s a fact that [McGregor] does [want to return]. He and I probably talk four or five times a month. He definitely wants to come back. We’ll just see. Every time I’m on here I tell you money messes everything up. So we’ll see.”
Conor McGregor won’t be happy
McGregor has been begging for a comeback date all year, so he won’t be happy to hear that his return to fighting has been pushed back once again.
In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, McGregor claimed that he will return on February 1 in Saudi Arabia before naming lightweight contender Dan Hooker as his opponent.
White subsequently insisted that no date or opponent had been decided for McGregor, while Hooker ruled out fighting in February as his wife is due to give birth that month.
‘Mystic Mac’ appears to be in no-man’s-land and White’s latest update about his fighting future is almost certainly going to illicit an angry social media response from MMA’s greatest legend.
Only time will tell if or when McGregor will return to the sport that made him famous.