UFC chief Dana White makes Conor McGregor guarantee for comeback

UFC President Dana White has guaranteed that Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon in 2024. 'The Notorious One’ has been out of action since he broke his leg during a defeat to Dustin Pourier in July 2021.

The Irishman has worked very hard over the last two years to recover and get himself back in shape, and White says fans will not have to wait much longer for the 35-year-old’s comeback fight. “Yes, 100 percent,” White said. “[McGregor] fights next year…We'll see the timing of when that goes down.

“The good thing for guys like [Michael] Chandler, and you know there’s a lot of sh*t talk about fighter pay and all that other sh*t – you don’t see these guys hurrying up to fight... Chandler can hang out and wait for f*cking Conor.” White also shared news of a potential super fight, which doesn’t include McGregor, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion.

“We’re talking about one right now, actually, that just popped up a few days ago,” White added. “I can’t talk about it until we get everybody... well, every fight that you would consider a ‘super fight’ would involve McGregor but this one isn’t, no.”

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It was expected that McGregor’s first bout since his injury would take place against Michael Chandler, his rival coach on Season 31 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. That contest was believed to follow the conclusion of the reality series, but it still hangs in the balance. For any fight to take place, McGregor had to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool, which he has now done.

In October, the combat star stated his desire to return to action in April 2024, but his coach John Kavanagh says his comeback is unlikely to happen before next summer. “We were hoping for April. That was the hope. That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime,” Kavanagh told The MMA Hour in November.

“I don’t know [why]. That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forward [about] today.” Kavanagh also acknowledged that he was concerned about more than McGregor’s physical health, especially as he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. 

“Well, I was [worried about his mental health] too, I’m not going to lie. But hearing him today, he’s out there finding this great group of training partners — at least he’s doing that,” McGregor’s coach added.

“Hey, it’s not quite the same as getting in to compete in front of a large crowd, but at least he’s getting training in, and that’s so important.

"We heard Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] talk about that, ‘Keep me busy,’ and all that. So I love to hear that he’s training hard with these guys. But look, and this is what I was saying to him as well — yeah, OK, it’s a knock back if we’re hearing it was April but now it’s July, but it’s not the end of the world. It is an extra couple of months. It’s not great. But hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment. Let’s just keep that going.”