UFC fans around the world were eagerly awaiting news of Conor McGregor’s potential comeback to the Octagon, but UFC President Dana White has put to rest speculations that ‘The Notorious’ would make his return at UFC 296 in December.
McGregor, who hasn’t fought since his dramatic leg injury in a bout against Dustin Poirier in 2021, had been hinting at his comeback against Michael Chandler by the end of this year. However, Dana White, in a recent social media announcement, conspicuously omitted McGregor’s name while revealing the headliners for the upcoming UFC 295 and 296 events. He did, however, hint that more fights were yet to be unveiled.
December is back on the table!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 22, 2023
“The main event for UFC 295 on November 11 in New York is John Jones, the GOAT and reigning heavyweight champion, and he is defending his title against the former champ and the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic,” White said.
He continued, “On December 16. In Las Vegas, Leon Edwards versus Kobe Covington will headline our last pay-per-view of the year with the welterweight title on the line. We are not done adding fights to these cards, so you do not want to miss either one of these events.”
One potential hurdle for McGregor’s return in 2021 was missing the re-enrollment deadline into the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s testing pool back in July. UFC fighters are required to be in this pool for a minimum of six months before they can compete.
While there have been instances of exemptions, such as Brock Lesnar’s return for UFC 200 in 2016, the official UFC-USADA policy allows exemptions only for “exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete.”
It now appears that fans will have to wait until 2024 for McGregor’s much-anticipated return, which is expected to include showdowns against Justin Gaethje and Nate Diaz. This extended hiatus marks the longest gap between fights for the 35-year-old fighter since his UFC debut in 2008.
