Conor McGregor's UFC return hits speed bump, delayed until 2025
Irish professional mixed martial artist in the UFC lightweight division Conor McGregor presents the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) combat league, at the Hard Rock Marbella Hotel, Marbella, Spain, July 18, 2024. (EPA Photo)


UFC President Dana White announced Tuesday that former two-division champion Conor McGregor will not return to the Octagon for at least another four months.

McGregor (22-6), who has been sidelined for more than three years, was scheduled to face lightweight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 earlier this summer. However, McGregor sustained a broken toe a few weeks before the bout.

"We talked. We talked. We didn’t meet up but we talked, and yeah, (McGregor) wants to fight. So we’ll figure it out. (But) not this year. He won’t fight this year," White said Tuesday.

McGregor had been adamant about re-entering the Octagon this year, and Chandler (23-8) expressed optimism about a potential matchup at UFC 310 in Las Vegas in mid-December.

That possibility appeared unlikely when McGregor was seen on videos partying at various venues.

McGregor, the first UFC fighter to hold two titles simultaneously when he won the featherweight and lightweight crowns, sustained a broken leg during a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and has not fought since.