It sounds like Dana White has a time table for Conor McGregor’s UFC return, whether or not that matches up with the Irishman’s own plans.
The UFC hasn’t exactly been put on hold while Conor McGregor flirted with a pro boxing career. But it’s worth noting that the dominant MMA story line of 2017 was McGregor vs. Mayweather and not anyone actually competing in the UFC that year. So, as the promotion steps into 2018, it’s no surprise that one of the biggest questions floating in the ether is: When will Conor McGregor be back?
If Dana White has his way, it sounds like fans will know by March.
The UFC president spoke to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole in a recent video interview, where one of the main topics was the lightweight division, and what exactly the UFC is going to do with it. White suggested that McGregor probably isn’t looking to return until next fall, but also tossed the idea around, that if plans weren’t firmed up by the spring, the UFC would go ahead and strip him of the belt. Either way, it seems like fans will be getting Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson next if all goes according to plan (transcript via MMA Fighting).
“I love that matchup (against Nurmagomedov), but Tony Ferguson is the interim champion, and Conor and I haven’t really figured out when he’s coming back and what’s going on,” White said. “So Conor has some big decisions to make here, really quick. If he waits — I don’t think Conor wants to fight until August, but if he waits until August or September, that’s around two years since the belt has been defended, and that can’t happen.”
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“As long as Conor is willing to (book a) fight by March, we could do Khabib versus Tony,” White said. “We could do Khabib versus Tony, and then the winner fights Conor for the title. Or if Conor doesn’t want to fight and wants to sit out until next fall, then we would have to make Khabib versus Tony for the title, not the interim title.”
White added that he didn’t believe negotiating with McGregor over price would be a major issue. Stating that he’s, “never been afraid to pay Conor McGregor money.” However, for a company that has built its reputation on providing big fights month-to-month, time is quickly becoming the problem.
The other potential wrench in the works would be getting Tony Ferguson to take a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov rather than the bout with McGregor that he’s clearly earned. However (at least on social media) ‘El Cucuy’ still sounds like a man ready to meet all challengers. And it just may be that getting elevated to the unified lightweight champ would be exactly the right carrot to make Ferguson happy with whoever he fights.