Conor McGregor may finally be closing in on his long-awaited UFC return, and UFC CEO Dana White sounds more confident than ever that the former two-division champion will fight again this summer.
It has been nearly five years since McGregor last stepped inside the Octagon. The Irish superstar suffered a gruesome leg injury during his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021, and since then, fans have been left waiting for his comeback.
Over the last year, McGregor repeatedly teased a return after his planned clash with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 fell apart. While speculation continued to grow, White mostly stayed vague whenever questions about McGregor surfaced.
Now, it appears things are finally moving in the right direction.
During a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White revealed that the UFC is in a “good place” with McGregor and hinted that an official announcement could arrive soon.
“We’re in a good place,” White said about McGregor’s comeback plans. “We’re in a great place with Conor. 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. We haven’t announced anything yet, but he’ll fight this summer. Let me just start there. He’ll fight this summer.”
The latest update adds even more fuel to the growing rumors linking McGregor to UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas this July. Reports in recent weeks suggested the UFC is targeting the blockbuster card for McGregor’s return, although the promotion has yet to confirm an opponent.
One name heavily linked to the fight is former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. The two previously fought early in their UFC careers, with McGregor earning a unanimous decision victory back in 2013.
Holloway recently admitted he would welcome the rematch, especially after losing the BMF title to Charles Oliveira earlier this year.
White also admitted that he initially expected McGregor to return last year before plans fell apart.
“I thought it would happen last year. It didn’t,” White said. “I’m extremely confident it will happen this summer.”
“He seems motivated, he’s training. There are a lot of other great things going on behind the scenes that make me very confident he’ll fight this summer.”
If McGregor finally returns this summer, it would mark one of the biggest comeback stories in UFC history. Since his last fight, the former champion has stayed active outside the cage through business ventures, coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter, and his involvement with BKFC.
Now, all signs point toward McGregor shifting his full attention back to fighting as the UFC edges closer to making his comeback official.
