Conor McGregor could have one of the most dominant champions aiding his potential UFC comeback.
Though many have given up hope of ever seeing McGregor back inside the Octagon, that hasn’t stopped the Irishman from repeatedly announcing his plans to compete under the UFC banner again.
The promotion’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion has not fought since UFC 264 in July 2021, where McGregor broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. Having remained inactive for over four years, ‘The Notorious’ now has just one victory in the past eight years.
That is a stat the UFC star apparently plans to rectify in 2026 at a marquee show in the United States capital. McGregor is targeting the White House event for his return, talk of which emerged when president Donald Trump announced plans for July 4 in 2026.
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev UFC 322 card could feature title eliminator if top contender gets his wish
Merab Dvalishvili could train with Conor McGregor after surprise FaceTime call
With Dana White ruling out Jon Jones from the White House card sweepstakes, many think McGregor’s chances of headlining the high-profile event received a boost. And should that come to fruition, the Dubliner could have a helping hand from one of the promotion’s most dominant current champions.
During a recent appearance on the Full Send Podcast, bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili revealed a surprise FaceTime call he had with McGregor while with the Irishman’s friend for the UFC event in Shanghai last Saturday.
“I think he’s really motivated,” Dvalishvili said. “Actually, when I was in China, I met his friends and we FaceTimed, and he asked me if we could train.
“I said, ‘Let’s go, Conor. I would like to train with you.’ Now I have a fight, I’m not gonna go (anywhere). After my fight, I wanna fight again this year. After, I can go visit him.
“We both follow each other on Instagram,” Dvalishvili continued. “Hopefully, we can do it. I’m excited for him, I would like to see him in a White House fight.”
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Khamzat Chimaev accused of lying about wanting quick turnaround after UFC 319 as actual return timeline revealed
Dana White gives a positive update on UFC White House plans
Dvalishvili’s comments came just before some positive news regarding next year’s July 4 celebrations.
Dana White gave a UFC White House update before announcing a slew of fights Thursday night, claiming everything is good to go for the event following his trip to the US capital.
“I had a great day,” White began. “I’m just about to take off here from Washington, D.C.”
“We had the meeting at the White House. It could not have gone better. This is gonna be awesome.
“The White House fight is on,” the UFC CEO continued. “The White House fight is on!
“I’ll have more details on that in the next couple of weeks. But we got it done today.”