Millions and millions and millions of ppv
buys. https://t.co/Klmi7dNLcK— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA)
March 20, 2023
Conor
McGregor is expected to return to UFC competition for the first
time since breaking his leg in July 2021, but exactly when that
will happen remains unclear.
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The Irish star coached opposite Michael
Chandler on “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” which will set the stage
for their matchup — presumably sometime in 2023. According to UFC
president Dana White, “TUF 31” was motivating for McGregor.
“He’s ready to go. He could probably fight tomorrow if he wanted
to,” White said at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference. “Conor
coming back and coaching ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ was like a [big
step] toward coming back. He was telling me Monday that it felt
good to be there again – felt good to be in the gym with other
guys, felt good to train, felt good to be in Vegas – all that
stuff. I don’t know if Conor’s ready to come back and fight
tomorrow, but ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ was a big step in that
direction and getting him back and getting him mentally and
probably emotionally ready to start training and get back to
[fighting].”
One of the biggest topics surrounding McGregor’s return has been
his re-entry into USADA’s drug testing pool. In most cases, UFC
fighters are required to be in the drug testing pool for six months
— and submit two negative tests — before they are eligible to
return to active competition. As of recently, it
didn’t appear that McGregor had returned to the drug testing
pool, and the anti-doping organization didn’t seem willing to
make an exception for the former UFC two-division champion. Thus
far, McGregor hasn’t seemed too concerned about the process.
As for White, he isn’t dealing with anything regarding McGregor’s
USADA eligibility.
“Um, have you ever heard of [UFC senior VP of athlete health and
performance] Jeff Novitzky? Ask him these questions,” White said.
“I don’t give a s—t about any of that stuff anymore. That’s his
problem. I don’t get involved in the drug testing situation
whatsoever. I know nothing about it, and I don’t want to know
nothing about it. I leave it to the expert. He’s the expert in this
thing, and you guys call him and interview him anytime about
it.”
Of course, if McGregor isn’t granted a special exemption, that
topic might be of more interest to White. For now, the UFC head can
concern himself with other matters — like a venue for McGregor vs.
Chandler. In an interview with the
Sports Business Journal, White mentioned a number of
possibilities, including AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Madison Square
Garden or one of a couple venues in Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena or
Allegiant Stadium). One option that is apparently off the table is
having McGregor fight in his home country.
“When Conor was the champ and the double champ, I wanted to do
Croke Park so bad. But logistically, it just never worked out for
us, “White said. “We couldn’t get them to work with us. They close
the subways down at a certain time that wouldn’t have worked.
Obviously, we’d love to come back to Dublin, too, but I don’t know.
We’ll see what happens. I don’t even know when he’s going to fight
yet. And his next fight definitely wouldn’t be in Ireland.”