Despite the past reports echoing Conor McGregor’s claim about his comeback in June, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the promotion still has no concrete plans for it.
On New Year, McGregor announced that he would return on June 29 to fight Michael Chandler in a middleweight bout. At that time, the company didn’t confirm the matter, but the excitement over the claim was enough to allow the announcement to make the headlines. In line with this, Chandler affirmed this was the case based on what he heard and started preparing for the fight. Needless to say, the news circulated for weeks, but White denied McGregor’s announcement details.
Dana White shuts down Conor McGregor's fight on June 29th. 🚫 Maybe 300 is on the table again? 🤔 #UFC297 #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/PRtuNgXXFV
— MMA.PROS.PICK (@MMAPROSPICK) January 21, 2024
During his recent interview, the executive was straightforward in answering questions about the matter, reminding the media that the company makes official announcements about its events.
“No,” said White when asked whether McGregor would be fighting in June. “When Conor is ready to fight, you know we’ll announce it. That’s what we do.”
Apparently, this means bad news for fans and the entire MMA world waiting for the Irish. Analyst and retired fighter Chael Sonnen, nonetheless, is not surprised about it, given McGregor’s character for making false announcements to confuse possible opponents. According to Sonnen, the Irish superstar probably just made the announcement to push the UFC to set it.
“I got asked about it on SportsCenter, and I got brought in to report and break this news, and I said, ‘Guys, I’m not going to do any of these things. I’m not comfortable with it,’” Sonned explained on his YouTube channel. “My source is Conor McGregor; that’s not a reliable source. Four days prior to Conor telling us he was going to fight Michael Chandler on June 19 (29), T-Mobile Arena, four days prior to that, he told us he was going to box Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East. I’m not comfortable.
“As a matter of fact, if you want to know what I think’s going on, I think Conor’s having a hard time getting this fight. And I think Conor has now gone to the public, stated a date that he knows is available, got Chandler to back him up and they’re doing this to work into this bout agreement backwards, which is fascinating.”
