Dana White drops bombshell over Conor McGregor’s next fight as Saudi boxing chiefs reveals secret talks with UFC

DANA WHITE has confirmed Conor McGregor will fight this year – but he insists his UFC comeback is far from finalised.

The former two-division champion has seemingly been matched up against fan favourite Michael Chandler since it was announced they’d coach season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter last February.

AP

Conor McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg at UFC 264[/caption]

The Notorious is expected to be welcomed back to the octagon by Michael ChandlerTWITTER@THENOTORIOUSMMA

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UFC bigwig Dana White has seemingly suggested Chandler isn’t guaranteed to welcome the Irishman back to the cage[/caption]

McGregor, 35, recently claimed his long-awaited comeback fight – his first since breaking his leg nearly three years ago – would take place in Las Vegas on June 29.

But White insists neither a date nor an opponent for the Return of The Mac have been finalised.

The UFC‘s President and CEO told Sports Net Canada: “So McGregor will be back this year – possibly him and Chandler.

“We’ll see how this whole thing plays out.”

White’s admission that Chandler may not get the McGregor payday – which he’s been waiting on for nearly a year – starkly contrasts his comments on the duo throwing down last November.

During an appearance on Crain & Company, he said: “To not do that fight will be ridiculous.

White’s bombshell revelation was followed up by a similar one from Saudi Arabia‘s Chairman of General Authority and Entertainment Turki Al-Alalshikh.

The Saudi big-wig – who has changed the landscape of boxing over the last few months – recently revealed he’s held talks with the UFC brass about having The Notorious fight in The Kingdom.

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He told DAZN: “I tell Caroline, my sister, here, and she’s a close friend with McGregor and myself, we are ready to fight with him.

“We will try maybe, and we will announce it.

“We will do something big and I asked the UFC if there is a chance to have McGregor on this card or in the future.”

The UFC were set to make their Saudi debut in March but recently postponed the card, a decision White claims was made to ensure they can make as big a splash in The Kingdom as possible.

He said: “Yes, we moved the card. I know there has been a lot of talk about that the card wasn’t good enough.

“We never even proposed a card to them, we didn’t tell Saudi Arabia about one fight.

“So that’s all b******t. Every time the UFC puts on an event, we want to blow the doors off the place, we want people to be excited.

“It was our first fight ever in Saudi Arabia, and a couple of fights that we wanted to line up, they weren’t ready to go, so we pushed the card back because we are going to deliver.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

REUTERS

Saudi bigwig Turki Alalshikh has revealed he’s held talks with the UFC about having Conor McGregor fight in The Kingdom[/caption]