White noncommittal on McGregor's next opponent

UFC CEO Dana White isn't making any guarantees about who Conor McGregor will face in his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

"It's gonna (depend on) when Conor comes back, who the opponent is - whenever Conor is ready and he comes back," White said Thursday during a fan Q&A in Dublin.

"He hit me up last night when he heard that I was here. He's in New York right now, and he is training."

The UFC had been targeting a fight between McGregor and Michael Chandler for the last 19 months - it was even scheduled to headline UFC 303 in June before McGregor pulled out with a broken toe. But last week, Chandler, who spent nearly two years on the sidelines in pursuit of McGregor, agreed to a rematch with former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira instead. That bout is slated as the co-main event of UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Chandler has said the McGregor fight could still come to fruition in 2025, though he is also interested in challenging for the 155-pound title should he beat Oliveira.

McGregor, a former two-division champion and the biggest star in MMA history, hasn't stepped into the Octagon since July 2021 when he broke his leg in a trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier.

White added that "it's possible" the UFC will return to McGregor's home country of Ireland next year. The promotion last held an event there in 2015.