Two months into 2024 we still appear to be no further forwards in finding out if and when Conor McGregor will finally make a return to the Octagon, and Dana White’s latest explanation on why the superstar’s comeback continues to be delayed don’t help shed too much light on the matter.
“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.”
McGregor had claimed on New Years Eve that he was returning in June to fight Michael Chandler, but there doesn’t seem to be any truth to that, with White recently suggesting that it could be into the fall season before he’s ready to fight.
However, despite that White also claims that he’s in the dark regarding whether McGregor is well enough to compete.
“I don’t know that. Only Conor knows that,” White said of McGregor’s health. “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.”
With that in mind it seems like even the vague suggestion that he may be back in the fall is just more of a hope rather than an expectation on White’s part.
It’s not out of the realms of possibility that White does actually know more than he’s willing to say publicly about what’s going on with McGregor behind-the-scenes, but for now all we do know for sure is that it’s closing in on three years since the 35-year-old last set foot in the Octagon, and over four years since he last won a fight.
