The return date for Conor McGregor remains a mystery.

“The Notorious” former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion has coached twice on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) without fighting either of his opposing coaches Urijah Faber or Michael Chandler. While the former of the two was never meant to result in a fight despite the show’s nature, a McGregor vs. Chandler collision has always been the expectation. As time goes on, however, it feels less and less likely.

McGregor, 35, came out early into 2024 with a video on social media that said he’d be returning at middleweight for his bout with Chandler in June. UFC CEO Dana White has since pushed back on that notion and said the promotion is targeting the Fall. UFC 300 has always seemingly been a secret option, especially as the event is still without a main event announced. That’s apparently supposed to change at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference this weekend, though.

Ultimately, if McGregor ever fights again, it will be his first time in action after he broke his leg in round one of his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Per the UFC boss, he doesn’t see any urgency for the Irishman.

“Well, first of all, he is coming back from one of the nastiest injuries you can come back from,” White told Kevin Iole. “How long was Anderson Silva out when he did it? How long was Chris Weidman out when he did it? You know, the guys who break that bone — so that’s an issue right there, No. 1.

“No. 2, Conor McGregor doesn’t need the f****** money. So, when you don’t need the money, it’s not as easy — I mean, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] doesn’t need the money. Khabib retired.”

He’s coined his eventual return bout as “the greatest comeback in sports history.” McGregor hasn’t shown any signs of issues involving his previous injury and continues to share sparring or training footage every so often. Therefore, he at least still has a fight-related mentality to some extent and also gets around to combat sports events when interested.

In other aspects, McGregor has transcended MMA to the fullest degree by getting involved in acting. The trailer for the upcoming Roadhouse reboot was released recently and the film heavily features McGregor. Healthy enough to fight or not, he’s finding ways to stay busy without fighting.

“I don’t know that. Only Conor knows that,” White responded when asked if McGregor’s healthy enough to fight. “These are questions for Conor McGregor, not me. I know he’s training. I don’t know what level of training he’s doing. I don’t know what level of kicking he’s doing right now. I don’t know any of that stuff.

“I need to know the guy’s in a full camp and he’s ready to go. Conor McGregor has a movie coming out. He’s got businesses that he’s building. It’s just a completely different dynamic when you’re dealing with a guy that has this kind of money.”

TOP STORIES

Roundtable. Is this the end of the Alexander Volkanovski era?

Crime. UFC middleweight Sedriques Dumas arrested on felony battery charges

Shots. Chael Sonnen roasts Jon Jones over UFC 300 remarks: ‘There’s a level of stupid that’s really hard to achieve’

Rivals. Wanderlei Silva accepts Rampage Jackson boxing callout, vows to ‘hang you on the ropes again’

Hit. UFC 298 loses prelim fight due to injury, card moves forward with 12 bouts

Matchup. Randy Brown describes frustration of chasing Michael Chiesa for a fight: ‘I just want the notch’

Critique. Alexander Volkanovski coach ‘laughing’ at Ilia Topuria’s confidence: ‘Hard to take a man in a turtleneck sweater too seriously’

VIDEO STEW

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck chats with Jon Anik.

Sound & Pound.

Embedded 2.

Whittaker vs. Costa preview.

Random free fight.

Eblen fight camp.

Aspinall vs. Hall.

Road to Joshua vs. Ngannou.

LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses UFC 300 still being without main event, UFC 298 fight week underway.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Change-up.

R.I.P.

Alright then.

Merab probs.

Exploration.

Paulo fans assemble.

Quote.

Incredible.

Story time.

You know what to do, boys.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0) vs. Bekzat Almakhan (17-1); UFC Vegas 87, March 2

Fabian Edwards (12-3) vs. Aaron Jeffery (14-4); Bellator 302, March 22

Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) vs. AJ Dobson (7-2); UFC Vegas 89, March 23

Juan Espino (11-2) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-15, 1 NC); La Despedida, March 23

Don’Tale Mayes (10-6, 1 NC) vs. Caio Machado (8-2-1); UFC Fight Night, April 27

FINAL THOUGHTS

UFC 298 fight week is surely looking to be an interesting one for multiple reasons. Will Dana stay true to his word on that announcement?

Happy Valentine’s Day, all! Celebrate and let your special ones know how much they mean to you. Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

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