Dana White provides update on Conor McGregor return after ruling out opponent for UFC White House card

Dana White has shut down suggestions that Conor McGregor will renew hostilities with old rival Michael Chandler at the UFC’s touted White House card.

Former two-division champion McGregor has been stoking speculation surrounding a potential return to the Octagon for months and is among many to express a strong desire to fight at the White House this summer.

The Irishman has even gone as far as to claim that his involvement at the event is a “done deal” and that his opponent for that fight will be Chandler, though nothing had been confirmed by the UFC.

But while hinting that McGregor’s comeback is still in the works, UFC president Dana White has all but ruled Chandler out of the equation, saying that the promotion are not interested in reigniting a feud from 2023.

“We’ll see if Conor’s going to come back or not,” White said, before being asked whether Chandler was being considered for his opponent.

He replied: “No, that was a couple years ago,” as he insisted that he would “not entertain” that bout.

This comes despite McGregor namedropping Chandler as his opponent for the White House card in an interview with Fox News back in September.

"The Mac is excited to be back,” he said. “I'm on it (the White House card), this is me.

“Michael Chandler and myself. We've done The Ultimate Fighter. We’ve had a good back and forth. He's a good, tough guy."

The 37-year-old has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in his second straight loss to old rival Dustin Poirier.

He was due to return to the Octagon in June 2024 but sustained a broken toe, withdrawing from a planned fight with Michael Chandler on two weeks’ notice.

McGregor is currently serving a backdated 18-month ban from the UFC after three absences during attempted drug tests. He will be able to fight again from 20 March.

More recently, McGregor has involved himself in politics, but this month he ceased his pursuit of becoming president of Ireland. He said the nation’s eligibility criteria was a “straitjacket”.

McGregor has also battled numerous legal issues in recent years and, in November, a civil jury found in favour of a woman who had accused him of rape in 2018. McGregor was found liable for assault, and his appeal against the verdict failed in July, but he continues to deny all allegations against him.