Conor McGregor’s comeback appears to be back on the UFC calendar, with CEO Dana White saying this week that the former two-division champion is expected to fight this summer at a UFC event. White made the comment while discussing McGregor’s status after a layoff that has stretched nearly three years, a significant gap for one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
That timeline matters beyond McGregor alone. The UFC has been looking for a blockbuster headliner for its summer schedule, and McGregor remains the company’s most recognizable pay-per-view draw in the United States, even after such a long absence.
White said he now feels strongly that McGregor will compete this summer after previously hoping the Irish star would return last year. According to White, McGregor is back in training, and activity behind the scenes has only increased his confidence that the fight will finally happen.
McGregor has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier. Since then, the biggest question has not been his star power but whether he can still perform at an elite level after the injury, the inactivity, and years spent outside the title picture.
That is what makes the eventual matchup so important. If McGregor returns and looks sharp, he immediately becomes a major player again at either lightweight or welterweight, depending on how the UFC books him. If he loses, the conversation around him likely shifts for good from championship relevance to pure event attraction.
American fans and media have followed every twist of McGregor’s return saga because the stakes are bigger than one fight card. A healthy, active McGregor changes the UFC’s pay-per-view landscape overnight, and his next opponent will almost certainly get the kind of spotlight that can reshape a career.
For now, the focus shifts to whether the UFC can lock in a date, an opponent, and a venue — and whether McGregor’s summer return finally becomes official after years of delays.