After greater than 4 years away from the octagon, Conor McGregor has apparently locked in his return for June 2026. The battle will happen on the South Garden of the White Home throughout celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary, a location that screams McGregor’s trademark theatrics as a lot as any championship belt ever did.
Conor McGregor’s Subsequent Combat
The opponent is rumored to be Michael Chandler, a welterweight contender McGregor was speculated to face at UFC 303 in June 2024 earlier than withdrawing as a result of a damaged toe. The 2 constructed appreciable historical past teaching opposing groups on The Final Fighter, so there’s unfinished enterprise past only a rescheduled bout. Chandler has been vocal about his intentions.
“We undoubtedly need to exit, dot our T’s and cross our I’s and go and never simply beat Conor, dominate him, systematically and surgically break the person down,” he mentioned in November, acknowledging the burden of representing America on such a stage.
McGregor confirmed the deal publicly on Fox News, telling Sean Hannity in early October: “Done deal, signed, delivered. McGregor will compete in the White House.” He framed it as a six-month preparation operation, describing himself as ready to climb the steps toward his comeback. But Dana White and the UFC haven’t confirmed something, and even added that negotiations haven’t but begun.
His coach John Kavanagh validates the dedication. Talking in November, Kavanagh acknowledged they’re “100% in” for the return, with McGregor displaying up early for fitness center classes and asking him to map out the coaching development by June. “He’s displaying up recurrently within the fitness center, early within the mornings, and is genuinely having fun with it,” Kavanagh mentioned.
The timing works with McGregor’s USADA suspension. He accepted an 18-month ban for missing three whereabouts tests in 2024, but the suspension is retroactive to September 20, 2024, making him eligible to compete again on March 20, 2026, just in time for the June fight.
What complicates the picture: Dana White hasn’t officially confirmed McGregor’s signature. As of late December 2025, White stated no fighters have been officially signed for the White House card yet, despite McGregor’s public declarations. This echoes past disappointments, the fighter has announced returns before that never materialized.
At 37, McGregor last fought in July 2021, losing to Dustin Poirier through TKO from a damaged leg. Since then, he’s been working a minority stake in BKFC whereas coping with authorized challenges and private issues. Whether or not he truly steps into the cage in June stays hypothesis, however his present fitness center presence and coach’s confidence counsel one thing real is going on this time round.
Conor McGregor’s Recent Controversies
McGregor’s comeback plans arrive amid a constellation of legal and private controversies which have shadowed his life outdoors the octagon. In November 2024, a jury at Dublin’s Excessive Courtroom discovered him accountable for sexually assaulting Nikita Hand, a hair colorist, at a resort in December 2018. The ruling ordered him to pay €250,000 in damages, adopted by a further €1.5 million in authorized prices imposed in December 2024.
McGregor appealed the choice on a number of grounds, however the Irish Courtroom of Attraction rejected his problem in full in July 2025, and the Supreme Courtroom refused to listen to an additional enchantment in December, successfully closing that chapter.
Individually, McGregor confronted a civil lawsuit filed in January 2025 by a lady who accused him of sexual assault in the course of the 2023 NBA Finals in Miami; that case was dismissed with prejudice in December 2025, barring any refining.
In July 2025, rapper Azealia Banks publicly accused McGregor of sending her unsolicited express photos through direct message, sharing screenshots on X that included a threatening message: “Don’t be a rat cos all rats get caught”. McGregor responded not directly on social media however by no means immediately addressed the allegations. These controversies—compounded by his four-year absence from competitors as a result of injury- have marked an period outlined by authorized battles and public scrutiny reasonably than the battle bulletins his fanbase has been ready for.
