After years of delays and disruptions following his leg injury back in 2021, Dana White has now all but confirmed the long-awaited return of Conor McGregor, along with a timeline on when his first return bout will be. During a conversation on the Jim Rome show today, the UFC CEO was asked point-blank if McGregor has had his last fight in the UFC.

“No, we are in a great place with Conor,” Dana White replied. “I’m extremely confident that Conor will fight this year. I’m extremely confident that we’ll get him dialed in and ready to roll.

“He’s training—there’s footage out there of him training right now… Well, we haven’t announced anything yet… He will fight this summer. Let me just start there. He’ll fight this summer.”

This suggests that Conor McGregor’s return is being finalized for between June and August. Since June already has the UFC White House event and August is being finalized for Islam Makhachev’s return, and the UFC does only one major event per month, all signs point to a likely return in July. This is very much in line with the earlier reports suggesting the Irishman would return at International Fight Week in July, i.e., UFC 329, potentially against Max Holloway. All that remains now is Dana White making the announcement official through his Instagram Live.

Speculation around the former two-division champion’s comeback has dominated the MMA world for months, with fans constantly debating when the former two-division champion would finally fight again. Conor McGregor was originally scheduled to face Michael Chandler in 2024, but the bout fell apart after he suffered a second injury, this time to his toe, in training camp.

Since then, rumors about his next move have only intensified. Last year, ‘The Notorious’ even campaigned publicly for a spot on the proposed White House card in June. However, that opportunity never materialized.

Now, the UFC CEO feels extremely confident that 2026 will see McGregor fighting in the Octagon again. He also pointed out that “there are a lot of other great things going on behind the scenes that make me very confident that he will fight this summer.”

Conor McGregor re-entered UFC’s testing pool last year and also served his 18-month retroactive suspension, which officially ended in March. He last fought back in July 2021 when he suffered a broken leg and lost a fight to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. White didn’t confirm an opponent for McGregor, and that too should come in due time.

But if Conor McGregor doesn’t get that fight by some miracle, he has another opportunity.

Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight Conor McGregor

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has revealed that he wants a future boxing match against Conor McGregor. Ahead of his first title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 this Saturday, Chimaev surprisingly opened the door to a fight with the Irishman under Zuffa Boxing.

“I’m not going to move over to boxing—I will forever be a UFC fighter,” Chimaev said. “But maybe if Zuffa Boxing gives the chance, box with Conor.”

Then yesterday, during the official presser, the Chechen once again responded after McGregor claimed online that Chimaev and Strickland were fighting for his belt.

“He lost his belt 10 years ago,” Chimaev said. “This guy should come off the d–gs. He’s drinking all the time—come back to normal work, and let’s fight.

“I’m saying Zuffa Boxing. People think I am just a wrestler. I’m an MMA fighter, and if I go to boxing, I can show my boxing, too.”

Despite the sharp comments, Chimaev insisted the matchup is not personal and admitted McGregor inspired him to pursue MMA after watching his famous 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in 2015.

With Conor McGregor’s return confirmed for this Summer, an opponent and venue remain the only two things that the MMA world has no clue about. But that too should be revealed pretty soon.