Conor McGregor: Dana White reveals when return will likely happen after KO’ing Cowboy bout
CONOR MCGREGOR’s return to the Octagon is unlikely to take place in the summer, UFC president Dana White has revealed.
Conor McGregor hasn’t graced the cage since suffering a fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 last October.
The former UFC lightweight champion has been teasing an imminent return to action on social media, with many believing he’ll headline UFC 239 on July 6.
A showdown with fan-favourite Donald Cerrone has been heavily tipped to be McGregor’s first fight since his unsuccessful pursuit of becoming a two-time 155lbs champion.
Both men have publicly entertained the idea of facing one another, with Cerrone recently hinting he’ll lock horns with ‘The Notorious’ on July 6.
White, however, has poured cold water on the fan-friendly fight.
“These two have been talking about this and I said if they want to fight, I would do it,” White during the UFC 236 press conference. “But we’re nowhere close to a fight.
“We’re actually looking at other opponents for ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone now.”
White further elaborated on McGregor’s future during an interview with ESPN, in which he claimed they were unsuccessful in making a fight with ‘Cowboy’.
We’ll see Conor fight probably in the fall.
“The fight just didn’t happen,” he said. “What Conor really wants is to fight Khabib [again]. That’s the fight Conor really wants. Let him figure out what’s next.
“But in the meanwhile, ‘Cowboy’ was in my office yesterday. You know him; he wants to fight. He’s ready to fight again, he wants to fight again.
“So we’re looking at another opponent for him. We’re looking at maybe him and ‘Ragin’ Al [Iaquinta].”
With a summer bout with Cerrone seemingly off the table, many in the MMA world have been asking themselves the same question: When will Conor McGregor fight next?
White himself is unsure of exactly when we’ll next see ‘Mystic Mac’ back in the cage but foresees him returning to action from September onwards.
He said: “We’ll see Conor fight probably in the fall.”
McGregor, 30, is currently serving a six-month suspension for his part in the brawl which followed his UFC 229 loss to Nurmagomedov.
His period of ineligibility began on October 6, meaning he’ll be free to return to the cage from April 6 onwards.
Nurmagomedov receieved a nine-month suspension for igniting the brawl and is eligible to return to the cage from July 6 onwards.