Dana White comments on timetable of Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon

We haven’t seen Conor McGregor fight inside the Octagon since his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov last October at UFC 229. McGregor was suspended following the event for the infamous post-fight brawl, as was Nurmagomedov, but McGregor was cleared to return to active competition a few months ago. Still, he hasn’t had a fight booked yet.

There were rumors McGregor wanted to fight this summer, with Donald Cerrone calling him out on numerous occasions, but obviously at this point that won’t happen. Speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, White said that he doesn’t know exactly when McGregor’s next fight would be, but once again reiterated he wants to wait to see what happens when Nurmagomedov fights Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 this September in Abu Dhabi for the UFC lightweight championship.

“Time has just been flying. The summer’s almost over,” White said. “Again, I say the same thing. Let’s see what happens in September with Khabib and Poirier, and we’ll go from there.”

McGregor has made it clear he wants a rematch with Nurmagomedov, who finished him in the fourth round last year at UFC 229. He poked the bear on Saturday night during UFC 240, egging on Nurmagomedov in a Twitter post.

For his part, White hasn’t necessarily shot down the idea of a rematch, despite Tony Ferguson being the clear No. 1 contender for the lightweight title. Still, White hasn’t decided if he’ll give McGregor the title shot yet, either. At this point, McGregor just needs to fight again. According to the UFC president, the Irish superstar will could return before the end of 2019, but if not, he could return in early 2020.

“Conor could fight this year, he could fight early next year,” White said.

Until then, MMA fans will continue to play the waiting game with McGregor.

When Conor McGregor does return to the Octagon, who would you like to see him fight?