McGregor's UFC return closer as Dana White shares update

UFC CEO Dana White has provided the most concrete update yet this year regarding a potential return of Conor McGregor, giving fans fresh hope about the former champion’s comeback, News.Az reports, citing Sports Illustrated magazine.

Attention in the MMA world is currently focused on Newark, New Jersey, where the Prudential Center is set to host UFC 328, a major event featuring two high-profile title fights at the top of the card.

Meanwhile, fight week discussions have also included the first official faceoffs ahead of next month’s “UFC Freedom 250” event at The White House.

Fans are also eagerly awaiting announcements about UFC 329, which is expected to close out International Fight Week in July.

A potential return fight for McGregor at UFC 329 has been widely rumored in recent weeks. Speaking in an interview with Jim Rome, White gave his most optimistic update yet on the Irish fighter’s comeback.

“We’re in a great place with Conor,” White said. “I’m extremely confident that Conor will fight this year. I’m extremely confident that we’ll get him dialed in and ready to roll. He’s training - there’s footage out there of him training right now…He’ll fight this summer.”

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani quickly shared White’s comments, following his own earlier updates on McGregor’s status. Helwani also suggested that an official fight announcement for McGregor could be made very soon.

Now approaching his 38th birthday, McGregor has not competed in the Octagon since suffering a broken ankle in the first round of his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

That loss left McGregor on a two-fight losing streak, after he was also defeated by Poirier in their rematch at UFC 257 earlier that year. His most recent victory came in a 40-second knockout of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246. That fight occurred more than a year before McGregor’s submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their UFC title bout.

McGregor was scheduled to return at UFC 303 in 2024 to face Michael Chandler, his opposing coach from The Ultimate Fighter, but he withdrew from the fight due to a broken toe.

According to White, McGregor has been actively sharing training updates on social media, and recent reports suggest the UFC’s preferred plan could be a rematch with Max Holloway, potentially headlining UFC 329.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev