Conor McGregor responds after Dana White confirms setback to UFC return

The president of the UFC said McGregor won’t be fighting this year

Conor McGregor has claimed that he will make his UFC return in December, in response to Dana White’s comment that “The Notorious” wouldn’t be fighting until next year.

In a press conference for White’s Contender Series, the UFC chief executive told reporters that he had been in contact with McGregor, but that the Irishman “won’t fight this year”.

“We talked,” White said. “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,” he added.

And in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, McGregor replied to White, stating: “Ah Dana, December is the date!

“Bring the calendar 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!”

McGregor has not fought in the UFC since July 2021, when he broke his leg at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier, and his scheduled comeback fight against Michael Chandler in June was cancelled just two weeks before it was supposed to take place.

McGregor later revealed that his decision to withdraw was due to a broken toe, and the rescheduled date of the fight has not been confirmed since.

Conor McGregor has not fought since July 2021 (Getty Images)

There has been plenty of speculation regarding the fight since, with Chandler claiming he’s been offered a shot at the lightweight title currently held by Islam Makhachev, and McGregor claiming that his foot is fully healed before deleting the post on X.

Nevertheless, the options for a headline fight at any point this year are closing rapidly, with Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway recently confirmed to be headlining UFC 308 on 26 October, and heavyweight champion Jon Jones likely to headline UFC 309 in November. Nevertheless, this does leave a December fight at UFC 310 in Las Vegas as a possibility for McGregor.

UFC 305 takes place this Saturday, with Israel Adesanya looking to reclaim the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis.