UFC President Dana White went live on the Jim Rome Show and said that Conor McGregor will fight this summer in the UFC. White didn’t announce an opponent yet. A rematch against Max Holloway has been rumored for some time, but it is not confirmed or officially announced yet.
The Irish superstar is rumored to return during International Fight Week in Las Vegas on July 11th. That night, UFC 329 will take place in the T-Mobile Arena.
Finally, The Long Awaited Return Of McGregor
When Jim Rome asked White if Conor was done, White replied immediately, “No, we are in a good place. I am extremely confident that Conor will fight this year. Extremely confident we get him dialed in and ready to roll. There is footage of him in training right now.”
White did not want to disclose an opponent or a timeline yet, but basically gave some information away later in the interview.
“We haven’t announced anything yet. But he will fight this summer. I thought it would happen last year, but it didn’t. I’m extremely confident it will happen this summer. He seems confident, and he is training. Plus, many other great things are happening behind the scenes that make me confident he will fight this summer,” White said.
If McGregor indeed returns to the Octagon, it would be his first fight since his loss against Dustin Poirier in 2021. McGregor suffered a broken ankle during that fight and never returned to fight in the Octagon again. The Irish superstar was supposed to fight his rival coach, Michael Chandler, on The Ultimate Fighter almost two years ago. That fight got canceled after McGregor suffered a broken toe.
McGregor Tried To Return Earlier To The Octagon
The Irish superstar also put his name in the hat to fight at the big White House event that takes place on June 14th. McGregor, who also had to sit out an 18-month suspension after missing several tests for the Combat Sports Anti-Doping, was eligible again to fight on March 20th this year. Unfortunately for McGregor, the UFC went a different way and chose other fighters to fight at that event. The Irishman had his best period in the UFC between 2013 and 2016. He was the first fighter to hold both the featherweight and lightweight titles at the same time. McGregor hasn’t won in over six years.
His most recent win came in January 2020. McGregor beat UFC Hall of Famer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone by TKO early in the first round. Since that fight, McGregor has fought two more times and came up short both times against Dustin Poirier. Whether McGregor indeed returns to fight in the UFC is still not confirmed.
But with White being so confident in his wording, it is possible that there is already a deal on the table. For the UFC, it would be a massive happening to have their biggest superstar back in action. At least with the UFC President being so sure about the return of McGregor, fans will have something to look forward to.
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