Dana White Hopes McGregor Returns in Summer of 2018

According to UFC President Dana White, he hopes that UFC superstar Conor McGregor will return in the summer of 2018. In a recent interview, White noted the following:

“Get through the holidays, and hopefully he starts to get the itch to come back and hopefully we can get him back this summer,” said White.

McGregeor, who holds a professional MMA record of 21-3 (9-1 in UFC), has yet to fight within the octagon since November of 2016. This was mainly due to the boxing match surrounding Floyd Mayweather, but there are rumors surrounding misbehavior from McGregor towards the end of 2017.

After a late attempt to place McGregor within the UFC 219 card this past December, the Irish fighter found himself in an altercation with a referee during Bellator 187, an event in which he was supporting a fellow teammate. Due to the incident, McGregor was officially taken off of the UFC 219 card, and has not spoken of a return date since.

White noted that dealing with McGregor has never been an issue, but the question is whether or not he desires to return to the UFC. During an airing of FS1’s “Undisputed”, the UFC President went on to add that McGregor would indeed defend his title against Tony Ferguson if he elected to come back to the industry.

The UFC has found themselves holding events in Las Vegas annually during International Fight Week in July, so I wouldn’t be shocked if that was the date that White and the UFC were looking to book for McGregor’s return.

A vast majority of fans are rooting for a trilogy match between McGregor and Nate Diaz, but according to White, the Ferguson title match is the top priority at the moment. From there, the options seem almost limitless for him.

In recent rumors surrounding the UFC, there are talks about Mayweather potentially making his UFC debut in 2018, and although it’s viewed as a long shot, it’s still not out of the question. After the Ferguson bout, would White dare to put Mayweather and McGregor in the octagon together, or would Mayweather instead be forced to go up against a lower-ranked fighter?

Knowing Mayweather, he only cares about two things: Money and ratings. With that, his desire would most likely be to step in the octagon with McGregor, and only if the opportunity and offer was appealing to him.

The UFC roster gave McGregor his props during his boxing stint, with many noting that he represented the UFC well. At this point in time though, those same colleagues are now growing tiresome of McGregor’s delays, as we are all now impatiently awaiting for what will occur with the 29-year old.