DANA WHITE has made a telling admission on Conor McGregor’s fighting future.
The UFC‘s poster boy was supposed to return to the octagon in June for a long-overdue showdown with Michael Chandler before he broke his left pinky toe.
But Chandler has seemingly left The Notorious in limbo by agreeing to rematch former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 in New York next month.
MMA fans around the world are now asking themselves the same question: Who will welcome Conor McGregor back to the cage?
But that’s a question even UFC President and CEO White currently doesn’t have the answer to, telling reporter Kevin Iole: “I have no idea [who he’ll fight].
“Like I said to Kevin today, you know, Conor will fight in 2025.
“So whoever is — however it plays out, as we lead up to him being ready, I have no clue.”
McGregor, 36, revealed to SunSport in July that he was hoping his eagerly-anticipated cage comeback would be rescheduled for December.
But White publicly poured cold water on the Return of the Mac closing out the promotion’s pay-per-view calendar.
And the 55-year-old is adamant the UFC brass won’t deviate from their latest plans for their poster boy.
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He said: “I said that Conor wasn’t fighting until 2025. It is October 1st of 2024.
“Conor McGregor has plenty of time … I’m gonna go with 2025. Yeah. 2025.”
Former two-division champion McGregor has seemingly given up hope of an end-of-year return, telling DAZN last month: “It will be 2025.
“We will see. My opponent that I had scheduled… it is what it is. I take it on board and rock on.
“My job is to go to the gym and be in shape, whenever it is and wherever it is. I will be 100 per cent ready.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since shattering his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
